Umalusi, the Quality Council for General and Further Education and Training, has given the Department of Basic Education its stamp of approval on the release of the November 2021 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination results.
The council on Tuesday held a media briefing where it announced its approval and gave details on some of its analysis of the 2021 matric examinations.
Umalusi chairperson Professor John Volmink said the class of 2021 was the first cohort to experience the realities of the pandemic for two consecutive years, Grades 11 and 12.
“The council empathises with the learners, teachers and parents faced with this hard reality and endured challenges,” he said.
Volmink said the council’s executive committee approved the release of the 2021 matric results.
“Having studied all the evidence, the executive committee of the council noted that apart from the irregularities reported there were no systemic irregularities reported that might have compromised the credibility and integrity of the National Senior Certificate examinations as a whole.
“The executive committee approves the release of the DBE examination results based on available evidence.”
The NSC exam started earlier than scheduled on October 27 and concluded on December 7. According to the Education Department, the class of 2021 had the largest number of candidates in years, a total of 733 746 full-time registered to write the 2021 NSC examination.
“A total of 123 487 more full-time candidates and 46 942 more part-time candidates registered to write the examination. Of the 733 746 candidates that registered for the examination, 700 604 candidates wrote the examination, which reflects the lowest percentage of ’no-shows’ (4.5%) over the last few years,” the council said.
Volmink revealed that a new trend of opening the NSC question papers before time was detected in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in life sciences and agricultural sciences.
He said this trend saddened the council.
“No question paper should be open before 8.30am.
“Umalusi will work hard to ensure that those who are responsible for this malpractice face the law,” Volmink said.
The DBE is required to block the results of candidates involved in group copying or any sort of irregularity. The department is then mandated to conduct an investigation into the irregularities and hand in a report to Umalusi by March 15.