The Basic Education Department says it’s satisfied with the security around matric question papers.
It hopes it will have a problem-free exam period this year. This comes as the 2018 matric class starts with its final exams in earnest this week.
Monday, they will sit for the unofficial languages and on Tuesday 629 000 learners will write the English Paper one exam.
The department’s spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga says learners signed a pledge committing themselves to clean exams.
He says exam papers are escorted by security guards in their vehicles to make sure that they reach their destination without any problems.
He says, “It’s a strenuous process that will have to happen until the end of November. We know that Limpopo has given us some challenges when it comes to the sale of leaked question papers, but we hope that the work that we have done to prepare them to write an error free exam will help because it’s been a challenge having to deal with such things because a lot of people don’t get their results while we investigate. So we don’t want that type of thing to happen.”
Meanwhile, the Portfolio Committee on Education has challenged matriculants in Gauteng to achieve a 90% pass rate in 2018. In 2017, the province was ranked second with an 86% pass rate after the Free State at 89.8%.
Committee Chairperson Joe Mpisi has advised learners to abandon their cellphones until the end of the exams.
“We must also ask them to cut on the social needs, if needs be. They could give their parents their cellphones and make sure that the thing that they fall in love with now must be their books. Secondly, we are asking their parents to give support to these young people because they need all of us. The churches must pray for them. Lastly, we are asking society not to pressurise these matriculants.”
