The Class of 2024 is due to start writing exams next week.
The province’s Education MEC Matome Chiloane briefed the media on Monday on the province’s readiness for the exams.
A total of 136,051 full-time and 53,642 part-time and repeat matric candidates will sit for this year’s examinations.
Chiloane said they believe sufficient measures are in place to prevent exam papers from leaking and to ensure the integrity of the examination process.
“We have beefed up security, and this goes way beyond protecting the examination centres in the schools,” he added.
The Education Department has expanded its examination infrastructure by adding 16 new exam centres.
“We have a total of 1035 examination centres, of which 931 are for full-time candidates, and for part-time and repeater candidates, we have 104. The 669 are public centres which are public high schools, 237 are independent centres, 91 are part-time centres, and 38 are designated centres,” Chiloane explained.
Chiloane also addressed the placement of Grade 1 and Grade 8 pupils, assuring parents that their children would be placed in the correct schools in time for the start of the 2025 academic year.
At the same time, he said the tendency to prioritise residential developments on vacant land instead of new schools exacerbates the shortage of educational facilities in certain areas.
“The problem persists for us due to the approving of complex buildings but not designating space for schools,” Chiloane said.
He singled out the City of Tshwane for “dragging its feet on approving the construction of new schools, despite a pressing need for more educational facilities in the area”.
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