Matric exams to start 19 October – Motshekga

Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga announced that the 2020 National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams will begin on 19 October and end on 26 November.

Addressing the media in Pretoria on Monday, Motshekga said the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM) green-lighted the department’s examination calendar year for 2020.

“It is important to report that CEM approved the 2020 National Senior Certificate and Senior Certificate examination calendars.

“The 2020 NSC will begin on the 19 October 2020 and will be concluded on 26 November 2020,” Motshekga said in a statement.

The minister said practical subjects including Computer Application Technology (CAT) and Information Technology (IT) will take place earlier than the rest of the subjects.

“The practical subjects, i.e., Computer Application Technology and Information Technology will sit on 13 and 14 October 202, respectively.

“In the case of electricity disruptions, as experienced in 2019, re-writing of the two subjects will take place on 27 October 2020.”

Motshekga said re-writes for previous learners will take place from 4 May to 11 June and the results will available on 30 July.

She also highlighted that the exam timetable was drafted to accommodate all religions and their respective holidays after consulting with all religious organisations.

The minister confirmed that the CEM also approved the 2022 calendar year.

“CEM has approved the 2022 calendar year, which states that schools will close a week later than the previous year to ensure the protection of learning and teaching time.”

She addressed the situation of schools turning away undocumented learners looking to receive an education.

“We need to remind all our schools that the admission of undocumented learners in public schools is an immediate realisable right in terms of the judgment handed down in this matter in December 2019.

“Any school that does not admit undocumented learners, may be faced with litigation. We, therefore, urge all schools to comply with the court judgment.”

Speaking about the novel coronavirus, Motshekga said a number of enquiries were sent to the education department regarding how it would be dealt with at schools.

“We have redirected all enquiries to the department of health, [which] is leading the intervention regarding the management of the cases.

“We have sent a circular to all our schools to provide guidelines on what to do in terms of general hygiene standards. The safety of learners and teachers remain a priority in this sector,” she concluded.

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