Umalusi approves release of matric results next week
Matric students from all over South Africa will receive their results on 4 January 2018 while IEB students will be able to access their results from midnight on 3 January.
DA Shadow Minister of Basic Education, Nomsa Marchesi MP says the announcement of matric mark adjustments by Umalusi has raised questions about the management of the South African National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams. Umalusi, the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training, has approved the release of the 2018 national examinations results. Matric students from all over South Africa will receive their results on 4 January 2018 while IEB students will be able to access their results from midnight on 3 January.
“Of the 67 subjects considered for the Department of Basic Education (DBE) matric exams, 17 had their marks adjusted upwards – one more than last year. This means a quarter of all DBE subjects still have their marks adjusted upwards. This continuing trend raises some serious questions,” she said.
DBE NSC subject adjustments (2012-2018)
| Year | Total subjects | Total adjusted | Adjusted upwards | Adjusted downwards |
| 2012 | 61 | 17 | 4 | 13 |
| 2013 | 62 | 15 | 2 | 13 |
| 2014 | 58 | 23 | 13 | 10 |
| 2015 | 59 | 30 | 29 | 1 |
| 2016 | 58 | 32 | 28 | 4 |
| 2017 | 58 | 20 | 16 | 4 |
| 2018 | 67 | 28 | 17 | 11 |
“Unfortunately, we have no idea how large these adjustments are. Umalusi hides this information from the public, and refuses to allow elected Members of Parliament to attend the standardisation meeting. Anyone who questions these adjustments is accused of attempting to disrupt the process and attack the school system, simply for asking for clarity. Protecting the quality of the matric certificate is vital to ensuring that young South Africans can study further or secure a job after school,” she said.
