"Some learners allowed to write supplementary exams" Motshekga

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Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, has announced plans to give under-performing learners a second chance.

Announcing the programme on Wednesday, Motshekga said that dire statistics about youth unemployment had galvanised them into action to launch the Second Chance Matric Programme. 

Minister Motshekga says the overarching objective of this Programme is to offer young people who have failed to meet the requirements of the NSC a second chance to obtain a matric thereby improving their quality of life.

She says the Programme is intended to provide support to learners who have not been able to meet the requirements of the National Senior Certificate.

The categories of learners who will be covered are those who qualify to write Supplementary Examinations for a maximum of two subjects, progressed learners who pursue multiple opportunities to complete the NSC, and learners who failed to meet the requirements of the NSC in 2015.

In terms of the Regulations pertaining to the Conduct, Administration and Management of Assessment for the National Senior Certificate, the following candidates are allowed to write the Supplementary examinations:

• A candidate who has not met the minimum promotion and certification requirements, and requires a maximum of two subjects to obtain the National Senior Certificate;
• A candidate who is medically unfit and, as a result, was absent from one or more external examinations;
• A candidate who does not satisfy the minimum higher education requirements and higher education faculty requirements. In such cases the candidate must be one requirement short in meeting the minimum admission requirements for Higher Certificate, Diploma and Bachelor’s Degree programmes;
• A candidate who provides documentary evidence that he or she is being considered for an occupation but is one requirement short for the specific occupation; and
• A candidate who has a death in the immediate family, or other special reasons for the candidate’s absence.

The other important prescripts relating to the writing of the Supplementary examination are the following:

• The School-Based Assessment (SBA) of the Grade 12 year will be used, including the practical or the oral assessment marks where applicable;
• In a case where an irregularity is being investigated, provisional enrollment for the Supplementary examinations may be granted to the candidate concerned, pending the outcome of the investigation; and
• A candidate who did not write or complete the end-of-year examination with a valid reason has the option to write the Supplementary examinations in that specific question paper that he or she missed or to write the entire subject, which may be more than one question paper.