Cape Town - It is just 40 days away from the 2022 National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams, and it’s all systems go, says the Western Cape Education Department (WCED).
At least 23 000 learners were expected to attend the Spring School over the coming school holiday.
Districts have also been hard at work during the third term, offering after-school and weekend revision classes in key subjects, providing exam support packs to candidates, holding online tutoring sessions, hosting residential camps, and motivating learners.
Every matric candidate in the province has received a matric revision pack this term, containing past papers and memos in high-enrolment subjects, study tips, post-matric advice, and the pass requirements for the NSC.
It also provides candidates and their parents with all the details on when and how the results will be released, the dates for re-mark and re-check applications, and how to apply for supplementary exams after receiving their results if they would like to improve their marks.
Education MEC David Maynier said the department’s ePortal contained nearly 9 000 matric-specific support resources that learners could access whenever they like.
This includes revision guides, telematics videos, marking guides, study tips, and a variety of others. A record number of 185 000 unique users accessed the ePortal during the winter holidays. Maynier said he hoped that learners will make just as much use of it during the revision period. The Grade 12 resources are available here: wcedeportal.co.za/resources-to-support-grade-12-learning-and-teaching
Social workers have been on hand during residential camps, to support learners in need and to conduct motivational sessions with matrics.
Printed and online psycho-social support materials are available to learners, and individual counselling and support is being made available to learners who need it.
“We urge any learner struggling to cope with the pressure to approach their teacher for help, or to contact the Safe Schools hotline on 0800 45 46 47 (toll free),” Maynier said.
“Once again, we approach the exam period having to contend with load shedding. This is extremely disappointing, and is understandably causing concern for our learners.
“We will do everything we can to prevent load shedding from compromising the integrity of the matric exams in the Western Cape.
“Contingency measures are being put in place to ensure that every aspect of the examination process can continue, from the printing of papers to the marking of scripts. We call on Eskom and our local government partners to assist us in making sure that load shedding will not prevent our learners from achieving their best possible results in these exams.
“We wish every one of our matric candidates the very best as they count down to the exams: they are on the home stretch, and we know that they have the ability to achieve excellent results this year.
“We thank our matric teachers, who are giving their all to ensure that their learners do well in these exams. They are the last caretakers of our children before they leave school, and carry the burden of our learners’ futures with grace and determination. We cannot wait to see what the Class of 2022 will achieve,” Maynier said.
Cape Times