South Africa’s matric pupils kickstarted their final examinations on Wednesday and President Cyril Ramaphosa had a special message for the Class of 2021.
Matric exams kick off with English paper
More than 897 000 Grade 12 pupils sat for their first exam paper on Wednesday. The Department of Education revealed out of a total of 897 786 pupils registered for this year’s National Senior Certificate (NSC) exam, 609 830 candidates will sit for the English First Additional Language paper, next to 124 065 pupils writing English Home Language and only four candidates being tested on English Second Additional Language.
“The national examination system is ready to administer a credible public examination and it is geared to accommodate any change that may be warranted by the current environment,” the department wrote.
Ramaphosa pays tribute to Class of 2021
This year’s exams will conclude on 7 December 2021, with Malusi yet to communicate the release schedule of the 2021 matric results.
President Cyril Ramaphosa paid tribute to this year’s matric cohort, recognising the resilience it took for the close-to-million matric pupils to overcome the challenges of a Grade 11 curriculum that was ruptured by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“We are deeply indebted to families, educators and school governing bodies who made it possible for learners to make it to these examinations by introducing innovative means for learners to complete their curriculum,” he said.
Ramaphosa wished South Africa’s future professionals best of luck ahead of a challenging matric exam period and urged pupils to “adhere to COVID-19 safety regulations throughout the examination period and in the celebrations beyond.”
“We wish you the best of success in your final revision and in your examinations, which will lay the foundations for your life as independent, adult members of our society,” he wrote.
