Matric exams get going with no hitches

It was smooth sailing on the first day of the National Senior Certificate examinations when pupils sat down to write without any incidents or interruptions reported.

The Government Communication and Information System wished the class of 2022 well after 900 000 pupils sat for the National Senior Certificate examinations.

Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele said: “We acknowledge the challenges faced by the class of 2022, as they bore the brunt of Covid in that they were confronted with a disrupted academic year in Grade 10 and Grade 11.

“However, the 2022 academic year has been uninterrupted and has brought stability to teaching and learning,” he said.

Gungubele said there has been a high level of commitment by the pupils and teachers to prepare for the NSC examination.

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Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi and education MEC Matome Chiloane joined Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga at Nellmapius Secondary School in Mamelodi to monitor the start of the National Senior Certificate examinations.

Lesufi said full-time enrolments in Gauteng increased from 132 869 in 2021 to 138 877 in 2022.

The number of part-time enrolments increased from 42 884 in 2021 to 55 734 in 2022.

Exam ‘crucial in shaping future’

Democratic Alliance shadow MEC of education Khume Ramulifho said this exam was crucial in shaping the matrics’ futures.

“We believe that with sufficient and necessary support from parents and the community, the class of 2022 will make us proud,” he said.

Ramulifho encouraged pupils to refrain from cheating and pleaded with the department to ensure there were no leaks of papers to ensure the examinations were credible.

Natasja van der Walt said Covid had a big impact on her son, who is in matric.

“I noticed how he struggled to adapt to the rotational system in Covid and back to normal again. They missed out on a lot of crucial learning he had to catch up on,” she said.

Van der Walt said it was a stressful year. “You always hear about matric pupils committing suicide because of the pressure.

“At the start of the recorded exam, he told me he was scared, so I really worried about him,” she said.

Van der Walt’s son has been accepted at a university to study IT software engineering.

“He works hard and puts in the hours. He studies until midnight to push up his marks,” she said.

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Zonia Coetzer said her son in Grade 11 also started his final exams yesterday.

“The children are stressed because this exam determines if they are going into matric or not,” she said.

She said her son studied the whole day on Sunday for the exam yesterday.

“The worst is having to wait a month to get the report cards to know if they passed,” she said.