Matric wait drags on for some
2005-12-28 22:25
Cape Town - The moment of truth for South Africa's 508 363 matric candidates is scant hours away, as provincial education departments prepare to release their exam results at schools from noon on Thursday.
Last year, 70.7% of matrics passed, a figure which was lower than 2003, and which national Education Minister Naledi Pandor said at the time was not satisfactory.
She was to address a televised media conference in Cape Town at 13:00 on Thursday, after the provinces had released their results.
In Gauteng, officials said provincial results would be available in newspapers including the Sowetan, Star and Beeld, from 06:00 on Thursday.
Special honouring ceremony
They would also be available on the provincial education department's website http://www.education.gpg.gov.za.
Shalo Mbatha, spokesperson for premier Mbhazima Shilowa, said the province's best matriculants and schools would be honoured in a ceremony starting at 10:00 at the Linder Auditorium in Johannesburg, where Shilowa himself would speak.
In KwaZulu-Natal, the province with the highest number of matric candidates, there will also be an official release of results, by MEC Ina Cronje at the Royal Showgrounds in Pietermaritzburg at 09:00.
Cronje's spokesperson Christi Naude said newspapers in the province would, as in Gauteng, would be on sale with the results from 06:00.
Results would also be available on Thursday morning on the department's website http://www.kzneducation.gov.za/
Candidates would need their exam and ID numbers to see their marks.
She said one in four matric candidates in the country wrote in KwaZulu-Natal.
In the Western Cape, which last year recorded the highest pass rate in the country - 85% - the results will be officially announced by Education MEC Cameron Dugmore at a 09:00 ceremony at the premier's residence Leeuwenhof.
Deputy director general for education planning in the province Brian Schreuder said print-outs would then be made available to principals, who would release them to candidates their schools at noon.
The results would also be available from Friday morning - not Thursday - in newspapers and on the department's website http://wced.wcape.gov.za.
Candidates would have to provide their exam and ID numbers to get their results on the website.
Police in the province were on Wednesday already gearing up for post-results parties.
The SA Police media centre in the province said in a statement that it and other law enforcement agencies had already taken "measures" to ensure the safety of matrics as well as residents of areas where there were likely to be celebrations.
These included Cape Town's Grand Parade and various beaches in the city, Saldanha, Hermanus beach, Plettenberg Bay and Mossel Bay.
There would be patrols, access control and roadblocks.
"Strictly no firearms and no alcohol will be allowed onto beach fronts/ pavilions," the statement said.
- SAPA