Matric exams: Will results be published in newspapers?

Will the 2022 matric results be published in newspapers?

The Department of Education’s director for national assessment and public examinations, Priscilla Ogunbanjo, said consent forms were sent to all pupils early in the year to get consent to have their results published in news publications.

The class of 2022 had a tough build-up to matric. They bore the brunt of Covid-19 that disrupted two years of learning, leading to the Department of Basic Education (DBE) doubling efforts in preparation for the exams.

Over 755 981 full-time pupils and 167 479 part-time pupils, a slight increase from 2021, started writing exams on 31 October 2022.

How results will be published

The DBE said that examinations will end on 7 December 2022.

Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga will announce the results of the matriculants on 19 January 2023. The results will officially be released on 20 January 2023.

Because of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI Act), the department said parents and pupils will have to sign consent forms for their National Senior Certificate (NSC) results to be published in newspapers and other media platforms.

“These have been signed, and the responses are in the process of being captured on the Integrated Examination Computer System (IECS),” Ogunbanjo told parliament during a briefing last Friday.

Only those that consented will have their results publicly released.

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Otherwise, you can go to the DBE website and enter your examination number and fill in your personal details. Some results might not be available because of technical issues.

“Candidates are urged to get their statements of results from their school/centre where they wrote the exams,” said the department.

Poorer matric results anticipated

There are fears that the matric class of 2022 – after having two tumultuous years leading up to their exams – will have a lower pass rates than previous years.

Educational organisations stressed how pupils had to slowly recover and return to normal undisturbed learning this year, including attending classes on a full-time basis.

The extended load shedding crisis and the latest water shortages also disrupted their exam preparation.

Nonprofit educational organisation, Foundation for Education and Social Justice Deputy Chairperson Hendrick Makaneta said public schools will be hit the hardest by Eskom’s rolling blackouts, particularly those in rural areas and townships.

“The constant load shedding in these communities will definitely have a negative impact on the examinations as it’s becoming obvious that the majority of pupils are based in poor rural communities and lack of electricity makes it entirely difficult to prepare for exams,” said Makaneta.

Motshekga said the department continues to liaise with Eskom to manage the risks posed by load shedding on exams.

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