Urgent meeting called as matrics left in the dark

Matric exams started on October 27 and will conclude on December 7, for 897 786 students.

The meeting request comes after grave concern was raised regarding the lack of electricity supply and load-shedding.

Chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on basic education, Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba, said it was not only the actual exams that were affected. “It also impacts on the learners’ preparations for the examinations. It is particularly concerning with the national senior certificate examinations.”

She said the department of basic education had requested an urgent meeting with the Eskom CEO, which is expected to take place in the next few days.

“The committee was assured that it would be appraised of the outcome of the meeting for South Africans and learners to have some form of certainty.”

Mbinqo-Gigaba said they were reminded by the DBE of challenges faced by the class of 2021.

She said some of the challenges were the rotational attendance system, which began in 2020 due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, which had resulted in the loss of learning and teaching time, while the 2021 matriculants have had to make up the curriculum that was not completed last year.

Another challenge was classes starting late this year due to the pandemic.

Gigaba said the committee was assured that with additional programmes such as autumn and spring vacation schools, the sector had tried to make up for lost learning time.