In two weeks time, the Grade 12 class of 2021 will receive their final examination results. However, there is a lot of work that has to be done before matriculants can get their results.
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) released their full matric examination schedule in the first week of January. In it, there are a number of activities that are taking place and are yet to take place before the matric results are released to learners.
On Thursday 6 January, the matric examination standardisation meeting took place.
This is what the meeting is about…
The matric standardisation meeting takes place each year concerning the matric results. The meeting brings together a number of stakeholders where marks and results are discussed.
Often, challenges experienced by learners and teachers will be taken into consideration along with other factors that may have impacted on the grade 12 examination results.
The information gathered in this meeting is carefully considered and where the stakeholders see fit, marks obtained by learners will be adjusted.
Umalusi, the body responsible for ensuring that examinations are up to standard said ‘standardisation is used to mitigate the effect of factors other than the learners’ knowledge, abilities and aptitude on the learners’ performance.
Representatives from the DBE, Umalusi, the Assessment and Standards Committee, Heads of Provincial Education Departments, The South Africans Qualifications Authority and the Quality Council were in attendance at Thursday's meeting.
The loss of teaching time due to the Covid-19 pandemic is a factor that will be taken into consideration. That along with the fact that the class of 2021 also had disruptions in their grade 11 school year, arguably putting them in a worse position.
Loadshedding and its impact on the ability of students to prepare for their examinations may have also been taken into account.
This Is What DBE Director General Hubert Mathanzima Mweli Had To Say ..
Mweli explained that the class of 2021 experiences similar challenges to that of the predecessors in 2020. He thanked all learners, teachers, leaders in education and parents for their contribution to the academic year.
The unprecedented nature of the Covid-19 pandemic had an extremely negative impact on the amount of time learners spent in the classroom. Mweli explained that the loss of 50% of the 2021’s academic year had serious consequences for this year's matriculants.
Mweli said the department will see a deleterious effect of loss teaching time in particular subjects that are time intensive like language.
“Children have lost their parents, grandparents and caregivers. We often do not consider the psychological effect of this pandemic on learners” said Mweli.
He explained this demonstrated the importance of the standardisation process in ensuring fairness on an annual basis and that the impact of the pandemic cannot be ignored.
