No special treatment - Umalusi
2012-10-02 20:33
Johannesburg - The troubled Limpopo, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape provinces will receive no special treatment when their matric results are moderated, Umalusi said on Tuesday.
"Limpopo, the Eastern Cape, the Northern Cape will not be singled out," CEO of the education monitoring body Mafu Rakometsi said in Johannesburg.
"We look at standardisation on a national basis."
He was briefing reporters on provincial departments' readiness for matric exams.
Both the Eastern Cape and Limpopo education departments were placed under administration by the national government due to financial problems and the non-delivery of school books.
Two Limpopo schools were taking court action against the department after failing to receive the long overdue textbooks.
In the Northern Cape, 41 schools were closed between June and September this year. Children were prevented from attending schools by protesters demanding improvements in service delivery.
However, Rakometsi said no matter what the circumstances were in different provinces or for different students, results would not be adjusted.
"We are not going to prop up your results."
He said Umalusi had stepped up its monitoring of Limpopo and the Eastern Cape because of their departments being under administration. However he said the Limpopo textbook delivery problem did not affect Grade 12.
"It affected Grade 10, who are doing Caps [Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement] for the first time. We have found nothing irregular. They are on the same footing as the other provinces."
Umalusi also announced it had withdrawn accreditation of Afrikaans Christian education council, the Eksamenraad vir Christelike Onderwys, due to management problems and low pupil numbers.
Sixty learning centres and about 500 to 600 affected matric students, including some who were home-schooled, would now write their exams under the basic education department, said Rakometsi.
While education in the country remained marred by "deep inequality" and other problems, Umalusi was nevertheless "confident" the 2012 matric exams would be credible.
"Overall, Umalusi is satisfied with the preparations for the end-of-year exams," Rakometsi said.
About 620 000 pupils would write matric exams in 6 500 exam centres, overseen by some 65 000 invigilators.
More than 35 000 markers in 123 marking centres across the country would assess the exams.
Umalusi would verify matric exams results between 22 and 26 December and announce the status of its approval on 27 December.
Rakometsi said the matric class of 2012 was very special as it comprised mostly pupils born in 1994.
"We welcome the born free generation into adulthood."
- SAPA
