2006 matric examinations
3 October 2006
In less than 24 hours our matric learners will be facing a turning point in
their schooling careers when they will officially start their matric
examinations in Gauteng. For most of them it has been 12 years of sweating and
hard work and the examinations give them an opportunity to fulfil their dreams
of participating in the economy of the province and the country.
The Gauteng Department of Education is pleased to announce that all
preparations for the 2006 senior certificate are in place.
A total of 76 091 full-time and 60 565 part-time learners will be writing
this year's examinations at 810 examination centres in Gauteng. Despite a
decrease of approximately 2 000 full-time candidates this year, all the major
subjects show an increase in higher grade (HG) entries and decrease in standard
grade (SG) entries. If candidates are successful this could impact positively
on the percentage of candidates that obtain endorsements (university
entrance).
A total of 287 question papers for the 98 different subjects, levels and
grades that are being offered have been prepared for the candidates in Gauteng.
The national Department of Education is responsible for the setting of question
papers in 11 subjects. All 11 languages are catered for with a total of 145
different language papers to cater for all the different languages, levels and
grades.
The examinations will commence on 4 October 2006 with the subject Technical
Drawing to be written first and will end on 21 November 2006 with the subject
Animal Husbandry to be written as the last subject. The examinations will be
conducted over 56 sessions.
All districts and head office storage facilities have been subjected to
stringent security checks. The necessary security systems/personal is in place
to ensure that the examinations are conducted and executed in a fair and
credibly manner. It should be noted that severe penalties will be imposed
should there be any form of security breaches.
An examination hot-line will be operational during the entire examination
period. The hot-line number is (011) 355 0592.
The marking of examination scripts will be conducted over four staggered
marking sessions beginning on 4 November 2006 and ending on 2 December 2006.
Four marking venues have been secured for this purpose. Approximately 6 255
markers have been appointed to mark over the four sessions. Pre-marking
sessions will be held where Chief and Senior Markers will be training markers
in marking procedures and interpretation of the memorandum of the different
subjects. All markers will be undergoing a compulsory training session before
marking commences.
Monitors from head office, Office of the Standards in Education (OFSTED) and
districts will be monitoring the examination centres to ensure that the rules
and regulations regarding the conduct of the senior certificate examinations
are adhered to. Daily reports on the conduct of the senior certificate
examination will be sent to UMALUSI and Department of Education (DoE).
All chief invigilators and invigilators have been trained on the rules,
regulations and the procedures to be followed during the conduct of the
examinations.
A Provincial Examination Irregularity Committee has been established and
formally appointed by the head of department to deal with all irregularities.
Systems for recording and processing of irregularities are in place.
Gauteng Department of Education will release the class of 2006 results on 28
December 2006.
Every second week we will host media briefings to update you on the
examinations.
In conclusion I want to thank educators, the examination and assessment
directorate, districts and all managers in the Department, the Head of
Department (HOD) and all other stakeholders for the amount of work that you
have committed to prepare for these examinations.
Good luck to the class of 2006!
Issued by: Department of Education, Gauteng Provincial Government
3 October 2006
