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The Minister of Basic Education, Mrs Angie Motshekga is pleased that there were no major incidents reported on day one of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations and the first major paper was rolled out across the country smoothly.

The Minister marked the start of the 2018 NSC examinations with a visit Reiger Park Secondary School in Gauteng this morning (Tuesday) before the examinations got underway. The 2018 NSC examinations started in earnest today with 757 894 learners sitting for the English Home Language, English First Additional Language and English Second Additional Language examinations.

Minister Motshekga addressed Grade 12 learners in the examination hall just before the start of their examination. “You are the most important people today and we have come here to wish you all of the best with your final examinations. You should not get distracted by anything else, but should ensure you are focused on studying hard, and putting all your efforts into these examinations.”

The Minister emphasised that National Senior Certificate is the gateway to their future.

“These examinations are the culmination of a 12 year journey with us as Basic Education. We wish the entire class of 2018 the best of luck, it is now up to our learners to use the knowledge they have gained and to put their heads down and study hard to prepare. The Matric certificate is a gateway document that you will need to use for the rest of their life, whether it is applying for a job, or post schooling study opportunities, you will always be asked for your National Senior Certificate, so study hard and do us proud.” This was the message from Minister Motshekga to the class of 2018.

When asked about her expectations for the class of 2018, Minister Motshekga emphasised that she is cautiously optimistic and would welcome any improvements however more than that she would hope they remain stable. “We have put much of our efforts into ensuring we continuously improve the education system, and we continue to increase the cognitive demands of our learners. We really don’t want to you (the media) to get too hung up on percentages. We want to see more learners who took Maths and Science passing, we want to see percentages of learners who pass with 50% and above increasing, so the focus has shifted from average pass percentages to the quality of those passes”, said Minister Motshekga.   

This year will see 796 542 learners participating in the 2018 NSC examinations writing a total of 147 Grade 12 papers that have been set. The NSC examinations is the culmination of a number of efforts by the department to get the system functioning optimally and delivering quality basic education to all learners.  

In the lead up to examinations, the Department, led by Director-General, Mathanzima Mweli visited all nine provinces to monitor both learner and system readiness on the ground. This included engagements with school principals were the DG conveyed the importance of ensuring universal curriculum coverage and making sure learners are prepared and ready for the 2018 NSC Final Examinations.

The Departments’ Chief Director for Assessments, Dr Rufus Poliah, confirmed that by midday today (Tuesday), no major incidents were reported and all examination centers declared a smooth running of the first major examination.

Tomorrow 126 625 part-time and full time learners throughout the country will sit for their Accounting Paper 1 examination. The Department will continue to monitor the examinations as they progress. We are hopeful as the Department that all measures put in place will ensure we are able to protect the integrity of this examination by preventing any untoward incidents.

Marking of examinations will commence on the 1st of December and will be concluded by the 15th of December 2018.

The Minister of Basic Education Mrs Angie Motshekga will release the 2018 NSC Examination results on the evening of Thursday 03 January 2019 and candidates will be able to access their results from Friday 04 January 2019 through the Department’s website and through the various media outlets through which the results will be made available.

Good luck to the class of 2018.

Issued by The Department of Basic Education