By Johnathan Paoli
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has welcomed the start of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams on a high note, despite challenges.
Gwarube was outlining the first day of the exams during a National Assembly plenary on Tuesday.
She said a storm in Gqeberha had disrupted the Computer Studies exams for approximately 400 students.
The severe weather conditions caused significant damage to power lines and infrastructure, including collapsing bridges, and directly affected the ability of students to write their exams.
In response, Gwarube said the SA National Defence Force and local disaster management teams were on standby to assist.
The minister assured that alternative papers had been prepared and approved by Umalusi for such unforeseen circumstances, indicating that efforts were underway to ensure that affected learners were not disadvantaged.
Another issue raised by Gwarube was a significant increase in fake videos purporting to be leaks of the 2024 questions papers and memos.
The minister said the documents featured were in fact old documents that were digitally altered to look like official 2024 papers, and that it had caused needless caution and panic.
“I urge all South Africans, including the media, to rely only on verified communications from the Department of Basic Education, Umalusi and provincial education departments to ensure that only credible and reliable information is relied on,” she said.
The minister said that as the exams continued, her department was closely monitoring the situation in Gqeberha.
INSIDE EDUCATION
