Western Cape education urge communities not to ‘disrupt’ matric exams

The Western Cape education department has urged communities not to disrupt the June National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams.

The combined NSC and Senior Certificate exams began in the province on Wednesday without any incident – and will continue until 7 July.

Western Cape Education MEC Debbie Schäfer wished the candidates well and pleaded with communities to respect those who will be writing.

“I wish all of these candidates the very best and urge communities not to disrupt the exams in any way,” Schäfer said.

“Everyone deserves the opportunity to write their exams in the best possible circumstances, and disruptions will only harm the candidates themselves,” she added.

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The province has 27 506 candidates registered for the exams, including 12 605, who wrote matric in 2020, but are seeking to improve their results. There are also 14 901 adults and people already out of school.

According to the department, over 900 invigilators will oversee the exams at 217 exam centres across the eight education districts.

Schäfer said Covid-19 protocols are being followed at all exam venues – including wearing masks, daily screening, sanitising hands and surfaces, and physical distancing.

“Our invigilators were formally trained in implementing these protocols last year, and refresher sessions have taken place before the current exam session.”

Speaking about the rise in Covid-19 cases, Schäfer said the learners have a crucial role in assisting anyone less tech-savvy to register on the database for the Covid-19 vaccine.

“I urge our learners to take just six minutes of their time to help to register any relative of theirs, who is 60 years or older (after school hours, of course). It’s our learners’ turn to help their elders and to protect them against this virus,” she added.