Home South African Matric markers urged to get vaccinated as exam marking gets under way

Matric markers urged to get vaccinated as exam marking gets under way

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The 2021 matric examination markers have been urged to get vaccinated before reporting for duty, as marking gets under way on Wednesday.

File picture: Ian Landsberg/African News Agency

THE 2021 matric examination markers have been urged to get vaccinated before reporting for duty, as marking gets under way on Wednesday.

National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA (Naptosa) executive director Basil Manuel said they had asked the department to make sure that markers, and everyone who will be at the marking centres, are fully vaccinated.

This after the Department of Basic Education (DBE) announced that the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams had come to an end without any major incident that could compromise the examination as a whole.

The five-week long exams, which began on October 27, were written in 6,326 public centres, 526 independent centres and 326 designated centres.

More than 897,700 candidates registered to sit for the November 2021 NSC examinations, comprising 735,677 full-time candidates and 162,109 part-time candidates.

DBE spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said marking was scheduled to commence on Wednesday and end on December 22, with more than 41,500 markers appointed to mark the scripts at 193 centres located in nine provinces.

Naptosa made a joint submission with the SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) to the DBE calling for teachers to produce a negative test result before they are granted access to any of the marking centres.

Sadtu general secretary Mugwena Maluleke also urged markers to get tested before entering marking centres, stating that last year some of the markers went to the marking centres being fully aware of their status but they put money above the interest of everyone at the centres.

“Risking others is totally unacceptable and the DBE must ensure that the centres can’t be super-spreaders,” Maluleke said.

He said on the vaccination, they could only encourage the workers to take up the vaccine but it would be difficult to make it a precondition to enter the marking centres.

Mhlanga said the department had increased the number of marking centres to ensure better compliance with Covid-19 protocols.

“All marking centres will implement stringent Covid-19 protocols, including daily screening, the appointment of compliance officers, the supply of masks, sanitising stations as well as social distancing,” Mhlanga said.

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