Basic education releases May/June matric results

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The May/June examinations are special exams offering an opportunity for adults who do not have their matric certificate, candidates who passed the 2020 November examinations but who want to improve upon their results and those who did not pass their final matric examinations in the previous year, to obtain their matric certificate.

In a statement on Tuesday, the DBE said a total 239,024 candidates enrolled to write the exams. This included both the National Senior Certificate (NSC) and Senior Certificate examinations (SC). A total 95,525 candidates wrote the NSC exams while 143,499 wrote the SC examinations.

“The 2021 May/June examination was written by a diverse cohort of candidates, comprising employed adults, unemployed youth and school learners that wrote the previous Grade 12 examination in November 2020. The 2021 May/June examinations were successfully administered despite the enormous challenges related to the Covid-19. Both candidates with Covid-19 symptoms and those that tested positive were allowed to write the examination in special isolation venues,” the department said.

The results of the candidates cannot be reported in overall passes as candidates only sit for one or more subjects.

The department said examinations were administered under strict monitoring by the national and provincial education departments, Umalusi and the Council for Quality Assurance.

Examinations not affected by unrest, irregularities

The department reported that the prevalence of examination irregularities like cheating has declined over the years and any irregularities did not compromise the examinations which commenced on 26 May.

“[The] Council for Quality Assurance, after having scrutinised the reports from both the DBE and Umalusi monitors, declared the 2021 May/June examinations as being conducted in accordance with the standards prescribed in the Examination regulations. [It] also confirmed that there were no irregularities that were of such a nature so as to compromise the examinations as a whole,” the DBE said.

The marking of examination scripts was not affected by the civil unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in July.

“The marking of the 772,404 scripts, undertaken by 9,323 markers, across 54 marking centres in the country was completed during the school vacation in July 2021. Despite the protests and the rise in infections during this period, in certain provinces, the marking was completed according to plan, observing the high standards commensurate with these examinations.”

Candidates who wrote the examinations can access their results at district education offices, centres where examinations were written or on the department’s website on www.education.gov.za.

Applications for requests to re-check or re-mark of examination scripts can be done at centres where candidates wrote their examinations.

The department has encouraged those who would like to sit for May/June examinations to register and participate in the Second Chance Matric programme.

“The Second Chance Matric programme offers face to face support programmes, learning support materials and online support,” the department said.

The exams concluded on 7 July.