Pretoria - Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga assured that the final matric exams will not be affected or postponed due to the ongoing strike in the public service.
"The strike will not affect the matric exams and the date for the start of the exams will not be postponed, everything will go on as planned," Motshekga told BuaNews in an exclusive interview.
Commenting on the postponement of preliminary exams by some provinces, Motshekga said that each province will make a decision whether to postpone based on their own assessment of the situation.
"If they think they can go ahead with the exams, they should do so, but if it's undoable there is no need to continue," said the minister.
She said the preliminary exams were very important as they count towards the year's mark and prepared learners for the final examination.
The preliminary exams were scheduled to start on 3 September 2010, but due to the strike, provinces like Gauteng have decided to postpone them.
Motshekga said while the department could not force teachers to go back to work, those who wanted to return to class should not be threatened. This also goes for learners.
"They have the right to strike but learners also have right to education," she said, adding that worst performing schools were the first to go on strike and the best performing were the last to join the strike.
With 59 days to go before the start of the matric exams, the minister said some provinces reported that they have started a recovery programme preparing for the final exams.
