Matric exam marker dies after tragic accident at marking centre

A 50-year-old female IsiXhosa National Senior Certificate (NSC) matric examination paper marker died on Tuesday after an unfortunate incident at the Alberton Marking Centre.

The Gauteng Education Department revealed the incident in a statement on Wednesday.

Matric exam marker allegedly tripped

According to the department, the marker allegedly tripped and hit her head against a pole while leaving the centre on Tuesday evening.

“She was immediately rushed to the hospital but, sadly, succumbed to her injuries later that night while receiving medical attention,” the department’s statement read.

Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane expressed deep sadness about the incident.

“MEC, Mr Matome Chiloane, is deeply saddened by the passing of a female IsiXhosa NSC examination paper marker (50) at the Alberton Marking Centre on Tuesday, 3 December 2024,” the statement further read.

In response to the tragedy, the department said the Psycho-Social Support Unit was arranged to be on-site at the Alberton Marking Centre on Wednesday to provide emotional support to her colleagues and other markers affected by this incident.

Chiloane personally addressed the loss, stating, “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of the deceased marker. Her commitment to the education sector was invaluable, and her untimely passing is a profound loss to all of us.”

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NSC exams conclusion

The matric class of 2024 completed their NSC exams a week ago. The six week long examinations began on 21 October and concluded on 28 November 2024 for both Independent Examinations Board (IEB) and NSC matric pupils.

According to the Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube, marking began on 1 December.

“We have over 50,000 markers that are going to be taking on this process and between now and the 15th of December the the 16th of December all scripts have to be marked and all marks have to be captured onto the system,” Gwarube told the SABC.

In a media briefing on the update of the completion of exams, Gwarube alongside Deputy Minister Dr Reginah Mhaule, described the examination period as largely smooth, despite several notable irregularities.

Matric exam irregularities

Two exam question papers had issues. A Geography Paper 2, administered by the South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute, affected a total of 967 candidates after the paper was found to have errors in multiple questions worth 79 marks.

While it was reported that complaints arose regarding two questions in the Physical Science Paper 2, set by the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) for private school students.

Cheating, the arrest of imposters and a candidate, and flooding incidents were some of the irregularities during this year’s exam season.

Additionally, schools faced additional obstacles such as taxi strikes, protest actions, and power outages.

Mhalue also noted an unspecified number of candidates referred to as “administrative candidates” which she called “the normal kind of irregularities”.

She said an example of administrative candidates would be pupils who appeared to not be registered.

“If you’re unregistered, you will be given an opportunity to write. We declare it a technical irregularity. We investigate and if there’s some evidence that you did register, your script will be marked,” Mhalue said.