Learners at Soshanguve East Secondary School were in high spirits as they sat down for an English Paper Three to mark the first day of the 2024 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations on Monday.
At least 257 Grade 12 learners from the school, who took part in the exam, expressed confidence to achieve at least 100% pass rate.
They were elated to see Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube and Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane, who graced them with their presence to monitor that exams progressed as planned and without glitches.
Gwarube wished them good luck, assuring them of tight security at all exam venues to ward off possible disruptions of examinations.
She highlighted that contingency plans are in place to mitigate the impact of bad weather in provinces like the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal.
She described the first of the NSC as “a critical and important day because it is a massive first test to the system”.
“With all the 800 000 candidates across the country ours is to make sure things are running smoothly and that papers are delivered on time; that the exam venues are ready,” she said.
During her visit to the school, she inspected the exam venue and vacated just before the exam got under way.
Emphasising the importance of making sure there are minimal disruptions, she said: “We are asking and pleading with our communities to please allow our matriculants to write exams and for leaders to please give time and space for these learners.”
She said learners were expected to improve or at least maintain the current matric results.
Chiloane expressed optimism about the readiness of the province to host incident-free examinations, citing Gauteng's history of successful exams.
“We have never really experienced disruptions for many years with exams. We are confident that it will run smoothly. And we can assure you, minister, that we are confident of the improvement of results as a province. We like to win in Gauteng,” he said.
A Grade 12 learner, Thabo Ndlovu, expressed confidence to go through the examinations after “putting efforts to study”.
He said timing and planning was very important for his preparations and thanked the school for having hosted study camps for learners.
Another learner, Surprise Mathebula, said: “Today (yesterday) I am writing English Paper Three and the journey for me has not been easy; it has been rocky but I am ready for this one because the teachers also helped us with the in-between lessons when we were writing our trial exam. I am happy to be finally here.”
School principal, Riba Mmabatho, aimed for a 100% pass rate, discouraging teachers from settling for 90%.
“Whose learner must fail? And what is going to happen to the future of that particular learner who is going to be failing? So, we have different programmes to ensure that all learners pass according to their potential,” she said.
She said the school roped in the assistance of social workers from Tshwane district and nearby clinics as part of the learners’ preparations for exams.
“We are excited because to be honest it has been quite a journey.We have put enough effort that we can be sure that 100% is what we are working towards,” she said.
Pretoria News
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