Polokwane High Court allows a Gr 12 learner to rewrite an exam
A matric learner made arrangements to complete her exam in hospital after a medical emergency, but the Education Department did not allow her to write.
LIMPOPO – The Saviour Association of School Governing Body (SASGB) has expressed delight that the Polokwane High Court has granted a Gr 12 learner, whose time to write an English First Additional Language examination on October 31, was lost with the Department of Education to blame, to write Thursday (December 8).
The minor’s mother who had made prior arrangements with Kgakoa Secondary School that her daughter write in hospital due to abrupt medical complications was left shocked on the day when the invigilator and subject advisor decided that the venue was not conducive for an examination during the time at which the exam was scheduled.
The School Governing Body’s chairperson, Caiphus Moshutla says through the department, the invigilator responsible gave the learner an option to be driven to Mastech Institute or the school, where an agreement to rather use the school premises was reached.
To her dismay, the prescribed two-hour examination period lapsed when the two reached the school.
“Although fault was on their part due to last-minute changes, they said the learner still could not write and when they approached them [mother and learner], we filed an urgent application for the court to hear their case,” he said.
On November 29, in the matter presided over by acting judge Karen Pillay, the high court ordered that the learner should write Thursday (December 8), along with those scheduled to write during the extended period.
The order has also advised that the results be released simultaneously with the general National Senior Certificate examination in 2023.
“The results of the English First Additional Language Paper 1 Examination in Paragraph 3 to be released simultaneously with the general release of the 2022 National Senior Certificate examination results in 2023. Costs are reserved,” it read.
The Department of Basic Education on November 5 released a timetable granting learners who missed examinations for various reasons across the country, including the minor in question to write from November 7- 8.
Seven examinations have been scheduled for various times, and they include; computer application technology Pp 1, information technology Pp 1, mathematical literacy Pp 1, mathematics Pp 2, mathematical literacy Pp 2, English First Additional Language Pp 1 and economics Pp 1.
“Scripts are currently in storage and will be moved to marking centres from the 7/8th December 2022,” a statement accompanying the timetable read.
