MEC Zolile Monakali hosted a pledge signing ceremony with matric pupils at Ratang Thuto High School in Postmasburg on Monday.
THE NORTHERN Cape MEC for Education, Zolile Monakali, officiated at the provincial pledge signing ceremony at Ratang Thuto High School in Postmasburg on Monday, where matric pupils pledged that the National Senior Certificate examinations would be free of any irregularities.
Addressing the Grade 12 pupils, Monakali said that the department would continue to ensure that the final exams would be administered according to the required norms and standards.
“This year is no different. The necessary systems and measures are in place to ensure that the status quo will remain in the Northern Cape for many more years to come. The year 2020 will always stand out as a very difficult and abnormal school year, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Monakali.
He added that the lockdown had disrupted the lives of pupils both academically and on a personal level.
“The department had to respond to educational gaps by packaging additional resources and programmes to support pupils. Schools, teachers, and learners also looked for flexible ways to deal with learning interruptions.”
Monakali stated that support was provided via mental health specialists, catch-up and weekend classes, radio programmes and e-learning platforms. “In addition to this, close to 8,000 learners benefitted from our matric intervention programmes that ended on Sunday, November 1.”
He advised pupils not to copy answers or make use of their cellphones in the exam room.
“Pupils may not receive any help from a teacher or a friend while writing. All annexures must be handed in especially for subjects like Mathematical Literacy. Matric pupils must ensure that they use the correct exam number and sit in the allocated seat. It is also very important to warn you against accepting answers that are imposed on you by anyone.”
Monakali added that imposed answers could be easily detected at the marking centre.
“Results in the implicated subject/paper will be blocked for further investigation. The investigation and hearings are a long process that may be concluded after tertiary institutions have opened. This means that life will come to a complete standstill pending the outcome of the investigations and hearings. If found guilty of accepting imposed answers, the candidate’s results will be declared null and void,” Monakali warned.
“The guilty party may be barred from writing the National Senior Certificate examinations between one to three years depending on the decision of the chairperson of the hearing committee.”
He explained that a person found guilty of such an offence would be given an opportunity to appeal the decision taken by the hearing committee.
“This is another long drawn out process that can take up to three years to resolve, depending on the outcome of the appeal process. Therefore, imposed answers can easily destroy your life.”
