The Department of Basic Education has opened registrations for pupils who would like to write their National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations which commence on May 5, this year.
This forms a part of the department's Second Chance Matric support programme.
These supplementary examinations are open to those who have not passed matric, or candidates who did not satisfy the requirements for their certificates. It gives them a second chance to get their matric certificates. It also gives candidates who could not attend or finish the examination (for medical reasons or a death in the family, for example) a chance to do so.
You can register for the supplementary exams online at or at your nearest Education District Office. To use the new e-Government portal, you need to register with a username and password.
You will need to have your ID number handy. Foreigners will need to use their passport number. Applicants will need a mobile number and an email address in order to register.
After you have registered, you can use the email address and password you provided to log in and register the e-Services on the portal.
Learner support material can be found on the department's website under the Second Chance Program.
In addition, candidates who are unsatisfied with their results can apply for either a re-mark or a re-check of their examination answer scripts. Application forms can be collected from schools or examination centres.
However, due to the NSC results only being released on February 23. The Youth Capital, a youth-led campaign, as well as Parent Power SA, has called on the department to #ShiftTheDate for registrations.
A petition has been started to ask the DBE to allow young people more time to register to rewrite (@AmandlaMobi)
The two groups argue that six days are not enough to register for the matric rewrite. The current registration for the May/June rewrite is February 28, 2021.
Prior to this, pupils had several weeks in which to register. Youth Capital is also querying how learners would know which subjects to rewrite without knowing their results.
For information on registration criteria and subject choices, see the Senior Certificate page.