The End of NSC 2011: The Work of WCED Continues Unabated | Western Cape Government

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The End of NSC 2011: The Work of WCED Continues Unabated

27 November 2011

Media Statement by Donald Grant, Minister of Education

On Thursday, 1 December, the last of the 2011 National Senior Certificate examinations will be written.

So far, these examinations have progressed without any major incidents or disruptions. I would again like to thank our dedicated and committed team for their professional management of the entire examination process.

However, once the writing of the examinations has been completed, the work of the WCED continues unabated.

Next week, the marking process will begin. Marking will officially start on 7 December and is planned to be completed by 14 December. Each of the marking centres has strict security in place at all times to protect the integrity of the examinations.

The WCED has appointed 3 200 people to mark the 800 0000 examination scripts that have been completed.

The criteria for markers are that they must be teaching the relevant subject in Grade 12, have a second-year university level in the subject, five years' teaching experience and have taught the subject for two of the last three years.

This year, to ensure there is the highest possible standard of marking in these examinations and that all our markers are both competent and experienced in their subject fields, the WCED also piloted a competency testing programme for markers. The competency tests were done in seven subjects: Mathematics, Physical Science, History, Life Sciences, Accounting and Business Studies.

To ensure a uniform, high standard of marking, a percentage of scripts and markers will also be moderated (remarked) by senior markers appointed for this purpose.

Once the marked scripts have been checked by "mark checkers" the marks are then uploaded onto a national database.

In the last week of December, a National Standardisation meeting takes place where marks for various subjects are standardised and approved by UMALUSI. Standardised decisions are uploaded onto the national database to determine the results nationally. Once the information is checked and verified, UMALUSI declares the results fit for publication.

The provinces then check the results; they can be released for publication. Results are expected to be released on 5 January 2012.

Schools collect the results from district offices on the morning of the release. They are then asked to analyse the results and check for any errors. At 12:00, candidates will then receive their individual results.

We are confident that the Class of 2011 will do themselves and the Western Cape proud and we look forward to the final announcement early in January.

Media Enquiries: 

Bronagh Casey
Spokesperson for the Minister of Education, Donald Grant
Cell: 072 7241 422
Tel: 021 467 2377