By Johnathan Paoli
The KwaZulu-Natal education department has declared its preparedness for the upcoming 2024 National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams, with MEC Sipho Hlomuka outlining extensive work that has been done to ensure there are no issues.
He told reporters on Wednesday that this year’s examinations would see a total of 172,433 full-time candidates and 18,019 part-time candidates participating across the province.
The MEC outlined the scale of the logistics, noting that KwaZulu-Natal has the largest examination system in the country.
With 6343 invigilators overseeing sessions in 6710 examination rooms, the province is implementing a meticulously organised distribution plan for exam materials, utilisng 13 nodal points and 103 distribution centres.
A staggering 120 question papers will be printed, amounting to 30 million copies.
Reflecting on the success of the previous year, Hlomuka expressed pride in KwaZulu-Natal’s achievement as the second-best performing province in the country during the Class of 2023 results.
The department has set ambitious targets for 2024, aiming for a pass rate of at least a minimum of 90%.
It was 84.4% last year.
Hlomuka emphasised the importance of maintaining high education standards.
“As a province, we always say that our aim and target is to pass all candidates who sit for the final exam…,” he said.
To support this goal, the department introduced the 2024 Academic Improvement Plan at the start of the year.
Each of the 12 districts has developed localised plans to enhance student performance, particularly focusing on schools that previously scored below 40%.
The MEC highlighted various initiatives undertaken to prepare learners, including the Winter Classes Programme held in July, which provided nearly 99,000 pupils with additional tuition.
Upcoming weekend sessions aim to further support matriculants in their final preparations.
“Marking of the examinations will begin on December 1 and conclude on December 10,” Hlomuka said.
He outlined the logistical efforts involved, which included 32 marking centres and thousands of markers and support staff.
Results will be released in January next year.
Hlomuka also announced plans for a pledge signing ceremony on 18 October, where candidates would commit to upholding the integrity of the examination process.
This initiative is part of a broader effort arosss the country to ensure credibility and transparency during the examination period.
The MEC also expressed his gratitude to educators, organised labour and all stakeholders involved in the process for their unwavering commitment to student success, and urged parents and the community to rally behind the Class of 2024,
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance in the province has called for caution in light of the optimism expressed by the MEC.
DA education spokesperson Sakhile Mngadi said that while his party’s state of readiness tour expressed certain hopes, oversight inspections at the Ilembe schools have revealed little to no change at the district’s worst-performing school in 2023.
He said this was due to little assistance by the provincial department to date and having had no permanent principal since July.
He said his party will escalate its findings at Sabuyaze Secondary School to Hlomuka and his department as a matter of urgency in a bid to assist wherever possible ahead of the NSC exams.
INSIDE EDUCATION
