As the Class of 2023 nudges closer to finishing their National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has urged learners to stay safe and act responsibly in their celebratory moments.
The Minister said this when she briefed the media on Sunday in Pretoria.
This week marks the final week of exams with only six NSC papers left to write.
“Now that the Class of 2023 is about to finish writing, we urge them to be safe. This may mark the end of the 12 years that you spent in the basic education sector; however, it is certainly not the end. Many of you are gathering in various places to celebrate the end of exams. As you do so, I urge you to act responsibly,” the Minister said.
Motshekga said the department noted with great concern that learners were hosting and attending “pens down” parties.
“What is clear is that as much as this time is cause for celebrating, hundreds of our youth are overindulging in alcohol, binge drinking, and even finding themselves in trouble with the law.
“You may have turned 18 years of age and therefore reached the legal age to consume alcohol but you must understand that adulthood comes with lifelong responsibilities,” she said.
The Minister said the Gauteng Liquor Board has highlighted the dangers of overindulgence in drinking alcohol. This is in addition to the call to retailers to refrain from selling alcohol to underage children.
She said the department hopes to see more of these efforts across the country.
“May we always remember the tragedy of Enyobeni Tavern in the Eastern Cape, and many other such events, where the lives of young people were cut short, in incidents that could have easily been avoided.
“We urge parents, to know where your children are, with whom they are, and what they are doing. We need them back in 2024, as they continue with their education journey,” she said.
Rewrites
There will be rewriting opportunities for candidates who experienced technical challenges during the writing of Computer Applications Technology (CAT) Paper 1 in five provincial education departments and Information Technology Paper 1 in one provincial education department and those who could not complete due to load shedding.
This also includes Tourism Practical Assessment Task (PAT): 19 candidates in the Northern Cape and 32 candidates in the North West.
The Computer Applications Technology (CAT) Paper 1 and Information Technology Paper 1 will be written in the morning of 6 December 2023.
Tourism Practical Assessment Task (PAT) Paper 1 will be written in the afternoon on 6 December 2023
Tourism Practical Assessment Task (PAT) Paper 2 will be written in the morning of 7 December 2023.
The Minister announced the matric results announcement will take place on 18 January and the provincial release will take place on 19 January.
The department, she said, is confident that the all-important marking process, capture of results, standardisation, resulting and release of results will proceed according to plan. – SAnews.gov.za
