By Talent Tembe and Aphiwe Mgoqi
The MEC for Education in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) held a media briefing on Wednesday at Westville Boys’ High School on the state of readiness of the Class of 2024 National Senior Certificate Examinations (NSC).
KZN MEC for Education, Sipho Hlomuka, outlined the province’s state of readiness for the 2024 Final NSC Exams that start in less than two weeks.
The MEC discussed the department’s preparation for 172 433 full-time candidates and 18 019 part-time ones.
“The KZN Department of Education examination system is the biggest in the country, with 6 343 invigilators to manage the examination sessions and 6 710 examination rooms. The distribution of examination material will be done through the 13 nodal points and 103 distribution collection centres. KwaZulu-Natal will print 120 question papers, which will total 13 million prints,” he said.
He outlined measures to prepare matriculants for the upcoming examination, including the provision of revision of past papers, one-on-one consultations and winter camps to increase the province’s pass rate.
“The department has started the year by developing a 2024 academic improvement plan, whose objectives were, in the main, to improve the pass percentage from 86% that we received in the past financial year to the maximum of 100% or the minimum of 90%. Driven by the 90% minimum target for all districts in 2024, the province planned an accountability session for all schools that obtained 40% or below in 2023. The aim of the session was to eradicate the 40% and below category of performance in the 2024 NSC examination.”
He added that the department is eager to improve this academic year after the impressive results of 2023, which made KZN the second-best performing province in the country.
“As much as the department started this academic year animated, there was a common understanding that (it) needed to work very hard, not only to maintain the status quo, but reach the ultimate goal when it comes to education outcomes in the country.”
The national Department of Basic Education says it will implement safety measures to prevent disruptions or leakage of question papers, including collaborating with the South African Police Service and Defence Force.
“There are 32 marking centres with 7 614 markers, 1 517 senior markers, 67 chief markers, 87 internal moderators, 32 centre managers, 64 deputy centre managers, and 2 100 examination assistants. Marking will commence on 1 December and conclude on 10 December. In all 32 marking centres of the 2024 NSC Examination, marking centres will be closed on 18 December after the collections of annual scripts return to storage in districts,” said Hlomuka.
The minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, is expected to release the results on 15 January 2025.
Districts will collect their statements of results from the provincial head office on the same day, then release them to schools on 16 January.
