The National Senior Certificate (‘matric’) exams will be starting this week, taking place under ‘unprecedented conditions’. For this reason, it is ‘an exciting moment, but one that is also fraught with anxiety.’
This is according to President Cyril Ramaphosa in his latest weekly newsletter.
He noted that the June Senior Certificate examinations had been postponed and would now be written together with the National Senior Certificate exams. This means that more than a million candidates will be writing exams – the largest round of public exams ever undertaken in South Africa.
The president noted that the past year had been a major challenge for all learners. ‘The class of 2020 has had to endure conditions their predecessors never had to confront,’ he wrote, ‘They had to adapt in real time not just to finish the curriculum, but to catch up with the learning hours lost. Though some had access to online learning platforms and other resources, many had to struggle with access to learning material and teaching.’
He also paid tribute to the country’s teachers for doing all in their power to help learning activities continue.
‘They put our learners first and in doing so affirmed once more that our teachers are among our finest public servants,’ he said.
He added that the private sector had played an important role in assisting learners through the provision of technology resources. University students and media groups assisted in providing tutoring and broadcast lessons.
He also mentioned the case of Dendron Secondary School in Limpopo, where teachers had taken students into their homes and provided food while overseeing their studies.
‘At your tender age,’ the president wrote, ‘there are so many demands upon you. There are the pressures of rigorous study, the pressure to excel and to achieve the results you need to study further. And yet you have come this far. When you enter the exam room in the days ahead, you will be carrying not just your own hopes for success and those of your families. You will also carry the hopes of us, the South African people.’
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