Basic Education Minister Provides Update on NSC Exams, Confirms 1 Pupil Was Arrested at Exam Venue

• The Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube provided an update as to how the matric examinations were progressing
• The National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams have entered the third week, but there have been some challenges faced
• One matriculant could not finish his paper after police arrested him at the exam venue in connection with an armed robbery

The NSC exams are entering their third week, but it’s not been without some challenges.

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube held a press briefing in which she discussed the progress of the examinations and provided key updates on other issues.

While the minister touched on the BELA Bill and the spate of food poisoning cases, she also presented some interesting statistics.

1 Learner arrested at venue

One of the most surprising statistics from the press briefing was that one learner was arrested during his examination.

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The minister confirmed that the learner could not finish his exam as police arrested him inside the exam venue. He was arrested in connection with an armed robbery case.

2 Arrested for impersonating matriculants

Two imposters, who posed as other matriculants, were also detected and arrested. The imposters were attempting to take the exams on behalf of the matriculants.

Director-General Hubert Mathanzima Mweli confirmed that if any learners were involved in irregularities, they would be suspended from writing the exam for three years.

A few learners were also found with cellphones and crib notes while writing their exams. These were confiscated, and the learners were given new answer books.

Disruptive weather in some parts of the country, power outages, and even taxi protests challenged the education department. They were dealt with swiftly, and matriculants were still able to write the exams.

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Gwarube requests meeting with Godongwana.

In a related article, Briefly News reported that Gwarube requested a meeting with Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.

She said the topic would be to discuss the budget cuts that the Department of Education was currently experiencing.

Teaching posts in the Western Cape are under threat because the education department lacks the budget for them.

Source: Briefly News