Pretoria - Preliminary exams in at least four provinces kicked off on Monday, after being postponed for two weeks due to the public service strike.
Learners in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape will today sit for their first exam.
KwaZulu-Natal Education spokesperson Muntu Lukhozi said underperforming schools were compelled to write the exams now. "Schools which achieved less than 60 percent during last year's matric examinations are forced to write these exams. Other schools are free to write them or their own internally set exam," Lukhozi explained.
The exams in KwaZulu-Natal have been postponed twice due to the strike.
In the Eastern Cape, the preliminary exams kicked off with a three-hour Physical Science Paper 2 to be followed by a three-hour History Paper 1 and Computer Application Technology Paper 2 at 2pm.
Schools in Mpumalanga have also started their exams; they will be required to write six high-enrolment subjects.
The mid-year exams were continuing in the Free State, despite disruptions at some schools last week.
Free State Education spokesperson Howard Ndaba said that the exams were continuing today. "The exams were disrupted in some of the schools last week because the members of the Congress of South African Students wanted them to be delayed because they were not ready, but other schools started and they are continuing today," Ndaba said.
The September exams continued as scheduled in the 2010 academic calendar in the Western Cape, as many schools were not adversely affected by the strike.
Due to logistical problems encountered by the Gauteng Department of Education, the province will only start their exams on Tuesday with a three-hour Accounting Paper to be followed by a two and half hour English Paper in the afternoon.
On Sunday, Gauteng Education MEC Barbara Creecy visited matric camp sites in Atteridgeville and Laudium. These sites are part of the department's catch up programme for matrics. The MEC urged pupils to attend the camps to help manage stress.
