Can matric be repeated? Here are the steps you can take to get a second chance

It’s that time of year again where matric pupils across the country are writing their final National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams, marking the end of their 12-year school career.

This time of the year is also a good time for most people who are thinking of furthering their studies in the new year to enroll at a university, private college, or a TVET College.

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But what if your marks are less than impressive and you’re worried you can’t rewrite certain subjects to improve your results?

Improving your matric results

The good news is you can rewrite some subjects in order to gain entry to your dream course or the course of your choice. There are several options available to you in order to rewrite your NSC exams.

The Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) Second Chance Matric Programme provides support to pupils who want to rewrite subjects.

It helps them to meet the requirements of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) or Senior Certificate (SC) – an equivalent to today’s NSC – and obtain a Grade 12 matric certificate.

According to the DBE, face-to-face classes are available at various locations around the country, as well as online programmes and television and radio broadcasts.

“To this end, we have collated multimedia material to help you to prepare for the National Senior Certificate/Senior Certificate (amended) examinations. This material – made up of videos, study guides and audio – does not cover the entire curriculum, but focuses on the core content of each knowledge area and points out where you can earn easy marks.

“You must work your way through this material to improve your understanding, identify your areas of weaknesses and correct your own mistakes,” the DBE said on its website.

Benefits of rewriting your matric

• Pupils are able to meet the requirements of the NSC or SC and obtain a Grade 12 matric certificate.
• Increased pupil retention.
• Increased computer skills, job opportunities and career pathing.
• Pupils are able to access bursary opportunities for further studies.

The following groups of pupils have these opportunities to rewrite:

• Progressed Learners (pupils who wrote the NSC the previous year but did not sit for all six subjects): Face-to-face classes will take place in April/June 2023 for a period of 30 hours.

• Senior Certificate (amended) Examination Candidates: Face-to-face classes will take place in April/June 2023 for a period of 30 hours.

Candidates can register at any provincial DBE office (which includes the provincial head office, the district office or a circuit office) or can register online here.

Subjects offered include:

• Accounting
• Agricultural Science
• Business Studies
• Economics
• English FAL
• Geography
• History
• Mathematics
• Mathematic Literacy
• Physical Sciences
• Life Sciences

Supplementary exams

If you only failed one or two subjects there is an option to write a new exam and try to improve your results. These are usually written in March.

Supplementary exams can also be written if a pupil wasn’t able to write an exam because they were sick or were absent due to a death in the family.

Applications to write supplementary exams need to be made within 21 days of the results being released.

Repeating matric in high school

If you failed three or more subjects, or you think that repeating the school year could benefit you, redoing matric is a possibility, but this only applies to pupils who are younger than 21 years old.

This requires you to be at school for another whole year and could also be costly as an extra year of school fees will have to be paid.

Some pupils, however, prefer to take this route as they see it as the best way to improve their overall Grade 12 results.

There are also some private schools that allow pupils to repeat the matric year for certain subjects.

For more information on the registration criteria, subject choices and promotion requirements visit the DBE’s Senior Certificate page at: https://www.education.gov.za/Curriculum/SeniorCertificate.aspx

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