Community encouragement given to learners set to write final exams

A civic organisation from Mamelodi extends its heartfelt gratitude to all teachers, principals, and parents across South Africa who have played a vital role in nurturing, guiding, and shaping our children for the final matric exams.

The final matric exams are set to begin on October 21 and will end on November 26.

Bongani Ramontja from the Soil of Africa Civic Movement encouraged the Grade 12 learners to stay focused throughout the exams.

Ramontja said it was up to the learners to use all the guidance the teachers taught them.

“The teachers, principals, and parents played a big role in shaping the learners into the leaders, innovators, and custodians of our land and resources,” said Ramontja.

He said their dedication and sacrifice ensure that the next generation is equipped not only with knowledge but with the courage and vision to transform our nation.

Ramontja congratulated the matric Class of 2025 on reaching this defining milestone.

“Your final examinations are more than tests – they are gateways to a future where you can reclaim the destiny of our people,” he said.

“The matriculants are the heirs of our land, minerals, and industries, and they carry within them the power to ignite innovation and build the economy of South Africa.”

Ramontja challenged the learners to go beyond the classroom, provoke innovation, generate ideas, and envision ways to own and control the means of production.

He added that this message goes to all the learners and teachers in the country at the primary and high school levels.

“As the Soil of Africa, we pledge to fight for the opening of mines, factories, and industries so that our children can experiment, create, and develop solutions that empower communities, restore dignity, and drive economic growth.”

He said the final exams will test the discipline of the learners, but their lives will demand boldness, creativity, and relentless perseverance.

“Education remains the sharpest weapon for self-determination and through knowledge and action, you can tackle unemployment, economic exclusion, and the inequalities that hold back our people,” he added.

“To our teachers, principals, and parents: your role in shaping minds that will one day innovate, lead industries, and reclaim our economic sovereignty is invaluable.

“Your guidance is the soil from which great ideas and powerful leaders will bloom.”

He concluded by encouraging learners to rise up and let their minds spark revolution, their ideas build power, and their actions secure the future of our nation.

Umalusi is confident that the education system is ready to administer the end-of-year national matric exams.

Umalusi is the council for quality assurance in general and further education and training, which annually audits and monitors various factors of the national matric exams.

“While challenges still exist in our examination landscape, we are confident that the structures and systems in place provide a strong foundation for credible and fair assessments.

“The integrity of our qualifications remains paramount,” says Dr Eva Sujee, executive manager of quality assurance and monitoring at Umalusi.

On October 15, the organisation applauded the efforts of the Department of Basic Education, provincial education departments and all other role players for doing everything humanly possible to uphold the credibility and integrity of the exams.

Umalusi management has confirmed that successful candidates will receive their certificates within three months of the approval of the results’ release by the organisation’s executive committee, provided certification data is submitted on time by assessment bodies.

With over one million candidates expected to sit for this year’s end-of-year national examinations, vigilance is more crucial than ever.

According to Dr Mary Antoinette Dliwayo, senior manager of quality assurance of assessment at Umalusi, the audit process for exam readiness was conducted between August 11 and October 9 across all nine provincial education departments.

“The overall goal of the audit process has been to determine whether the measures put in place by each of the four assessment bodies are adequate to ensure the credibility and reliability of the assessment outcomes,” she explained.

All National Senior Certificate candidates have already received their exam admission letters.

These exams will be conducted at about 9 400 centres across the country.

Umalusi has completed audits of these centres, as well as the storage points for exam materials, including answer scripts.

While the details of the security protocols remain classified, the organisation has expressed satisfaction with the plans in place to protect the integrity of the entire exam value chain.

Rakometsi acknowledged that mistakes, such as the distribution of the wrong exam papers, have occurred.

“There are many challenges around the process, of which the rewriting for various reasons, like the wrong paper being given to students, was but one,” he says.

“But we believe that through close monitoring and feedback to the departments responsible, it will improve. We are saying to education bodies and schools: Strengthen your processes. And the good news is we are observing steady improvement.”

He explained that exam centres are assessed and ranked according to risk: low, medium, or high.

“With low risk, there is the potential that something might go wrong. Medium-risk centres are marked as such where there have been incidents, and high-risk centres are the repeat offenders. In these centres, outside monitoring will be a way to mitigate the risk,” he said.

Rakometsi is especially outspoken about schools that manipulate exam outcomes to protect their reputation. He warned against the practice of advising learners to skip exams if their marks are not high enough.

“This is criminal, and it is the duty of parents and learners to report this, should this be the case. It should not be done at the expense of learners.”

He also condemned the act of ghost writing, where someone else writes an exam on behalf of a candidate.

“Enough measures are in place to catch out the ghost writers,” he assures.

In light of past incidents where community protests disrupted exam venues, the organisation is also calling on the public to act responsibly during this critical period.

It has strongly discouraged communities from using the exams as leverage in protest actions, adding that it is everyone’s duty to safeguard the education of South Africa’s youth.

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to bennittb@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok.