The first day of the 2012 National Senior Certificate Examination got off to a good start without incidents or irregularities. This was reported by the Minister of Basic Education after she received the first report into the exams.
Today, 22 October 2012 marked the first day of the 2012 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination. A total of 527 266 full time and 32 789 part time candidates registered and sat for English Home Language, First Additional Language and Second Additional Language Paper 1.
“The recent heavy rains the Eastern Cape were a cause for concern and we thought that they could negatively affect the transportation of school children.” Minister Angie Motshekga said.
“I’m happy to announce that reports coming in from the Eastern Cape indicate that we only experienced challenges in the Ngqamakhwe area in Butterworth; wherein the start of the exams in certain schools was delayed by 20 minutes. Candidates were however provided with the allocated time”, she added.
No incidents were reported in the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the North West.
Two schools in the Overberg area of the Western Cape were affected by the weather. Five candidates from Swartberg Secondary started the examination at 09:20 as a result of the school bus they were travelling in getting stuck in mud due to floods. One candidate at Kairos Secondary School had to be fetched from home using a 4x4 vehicle, also as a result of floods in the area. All candidates managed to write the examination and were compensated for the 20 minutes.
“The determination that we've seen from learners across the country continues to be humbling. This morning I was at the Pretoria East Hospital to hand over papers to a learner from Limpopo who wrote to us requesting permission to sit for the NSC examinations in hospital where he is receiving specialised treatment. Another candidate from the Northern Cape gave birth around 05:00 this morning and opted to write the examination in hospital”, the Minister concluded.
Enquiries:
Panyaza Lesufi
Cell: 072 148 9575
