Thousands of Grade 12 learners across the country will be hitting the books this week as the 2023 matric exams get underway.
A total of 76 903 candidates will write the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams in the Western Cape this year. Of these, 64 105 are full-time candidates, and 12 798 are part-time candidates.
The practical exams take place this week, with Computer Applications Technology (11 731 candidates) on Tuesday and Information Technology (1 000 candidates) on Wednesday.
The written exams begin on Monday, with a total of 66 831 candidates writing English Home Language, First Additional Language, or Second Additional Language in the morning sitting. 123 exam papers will be written during the exam period, which ends on 5 December with Agricultural Technology.
The subject with the most candidates writing is mathematical literacy, with 51 575 candidates writing Paper 1 on Friday 3 November and Paper 2 on Monday 6 November 2023.
In contrast, there are four subjects with just a single candidate writing in the Western Cape: IsiZulu Home Language, IsiZulu First Additional Language, Portuguese First Additional Language, and Telegu Second Additional Language. 13 candidates will complete the South African Sign Language Home Language exam.
The exams will be written at 469 exam centres, overseen by 1 878 invigilators who will keep a close eye on proceedings and any potential irregularities. Marking will get underway after the final written exam, and 928 000 exam scripts will be marked by 4 158 markers and checked by 1 046 mark-checkers.
The national results announcement will take place on 18 January 2024, and the results will be available to learners at schools and online on Friday 19 January 2024.
‘It is clearly a mammoth administrative task and we appreciate the tremendous effort our officials and schools have made in preparing for the exams,’ said Western Cape Education MEC David Maynier.
‘It is also clear that we simply cannot afford any disruptions. While our department prepares contingency plans each year, disruptions in the form of strikes and protests have a detrimental effect on our candidates. Matric is a stressful enough time without our learners having to worry about getting to their exams safely.’
Maynier appealed to everyone in the Western Cape to treat matrics as VIPs of the province for the next few weeks. ‘We do not want to see their futures compromised by the selfish actions of the few.’
‘We are also mindful of the impact of the ongoing loadshedding, and assure our matrics that we have the necessary protocols in place for exams to continue in the case of both scheduled and unscheduled power outages.’
‘To our matrics: the time is now. Make sure that you keep your head down and keep working right up until your last exam!’
