The Department of Basic Education has commended teachers who managed to salvage Accounting and Business Studies exam scripts during a hail storm in the Free State. The storm ripped through a marking centre at the Albert Moroka High School in Thaba Nchu. The storm struck when 112 educators were busy marking the scripts last week Wednesday.
Educators had to lay out the wet scripts to let them dry and piece together those that were torn. There were more than 24 000 scripts at the centre. Examination chief marker, Marita van Den Berg, has paid credit to the markers.
“For the markers in such a situation still think to take what I’m having with me, having being in that moment, taking the scripts and saying I’m carrying these lives with me wherever I’m running. Because you don’t know where you are running at that moment. Some people went under their desks then they said no this is not going to work. Some people were standing with a chair they realized this is not going to work, I need to get somewhere to safety because it was just chaos,” says Van Den Berg.
Measures against COVID-19 spread
The Department also says it’s confident of the measures it has implemented to avert the spread of COVID-19 infections at matric marking centres across the country. This after several markers were forced to pull out after they contracted the coronavirus. At least 23 markers in Limpopo were sent home after contracting COVID-19. Free State director for examination and assessment, Kenny Basjan, says they have reserve markers on standby to replace teachers who can’t continue marking due to COVID-19 infections.
“We are very lucky this year because we have also picked up on other provinces. We have got about 19 cases of COVID-19 in our 23 centres. And we had one in Bloemfontein, we had most of them but most cases have been addressed. And where we had cases and people had been released, we have our standby markers who came in to take care of that,” says Basjan.
VIDEO: Update on marking of matric papers across the county: Alijah Mhlanga
