The Department of Basic Education (DBE), led by Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube, Deputy Minister Dr Reginah Mhaule, and Director-General Mathanzima Mweli, briefed the Portfolio Committee this week on a preliminary report on the dates and state of readiness for this year’s Grade 12 final examinations.
The DBE confirmed that the 2024 matriculation final examinations will commence on October 21 and run until November 27, 2024. Marking will begin immediately afterward.
“There are 55 053 markers appointed, who will be stationed at 188 marking centres. The results will be released to candidates on 16 January 2025. The Minister will announce the results on 15 January 2024,” the department revealed.
During her introductory remarks, Gwarube said that the department has worked hard to prepare both the candidates and the system for this year’s examination. She described it as a watershed moment for the pupils, who are in their last weeks in the basic education system.
In terms of system readiness, Dr Rufus Poliah, Chief Director for National Assessment and Public Examinations, stated that all systems are ready to administer the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations for the Class of 2024.
Poliah further reported that there are 732 448 full-time candidates enrolled for NSC examinations this year, which is 8,400 more than in 2023.
“KwaZulu-Natal has the largest Grade 12 population with 172 213 candidates, while Gauteng contributes the second largest number with 136 620. Eastern Cape has 103 975 and Limpopo has 94 236. Mpumalanga has 68 455 and the Western Cape has registered 64 552 candidates. The North West has 41 480, while the Free State has 37 737 and the Northern Cape has 13 180 registered candidates this year.
“There are 136 195 part-time candidates registered to sit for various subjects this year. The examinations will take place in 6 909 centres across the nine provinces,” he said.
According to Dr Poliah, Umalusi has approved a total of 162 question papers for the 2024 matric final examinations, which are now ready for handover to provinces for printing.
The Class of 2024 is the sixth cohort that will sit for the South African Sign Language (SASL) and Home Language (HL) examinations in November 2024. Twenty-three schools in nine provinces have registered 210 SASL HL applicants, compared to 134 in 2023.
