Learners are ready and geared up for the National Senior Certificate and Senior Certificate exams.
The exams will be ongoing until 7 July.
A total of 27 506 candidates are registered for the exams in the Western Cape, including 12 605 who wrote their matric in 2020, but are seeking to improve their results.
What’s more, 14 901 adults and out-of-school young people are also writing the SC.
Western Cape Minister of Education Debbie Schäfer wishes all these candidates the very best and urges communities not to disrupt the exams in any way.
“Everyone deserves the opportunity to write their exams in the best possible circumstances, and disruptions will only harm the candidates themselves,” she said.
More than 900 invigilators will oversee the exams at 217 exam centres across eight education districts.
Covid-19 protocols are being followed at all exam venues, including wearing masks, daily screening, sanitising hands and surfaces, and physical distancing.
“Our invigilators were formally trained in implementing these protocols last year, and refresher sessions took place prior to the current exam session.”
Schäfer said the past few weeks have seen a rise in Covid-19 cases over across the country, and it is crucial that safety protocols are implemented, whether at school or elsewhere.
“It has been a long time since we re-opened schools with these measures in place, but this does not mean we can afford to be complacent,” she said.
Schäfer added a key part of the fight against Covid-19 is the roll-out of vaccines, which has moved on to phase 2 (people 60 years and older).
“Our learners and young people have a crucial role to play in assisting anyone who is less tech-savvy than they are to register on the database for their Covid-19 vaccine,” she said.
“I urge our learners to take just six minutes of their time to help register any relative of theirs who is 60 years or older (after school hours of course). It’s our learners’ turn to help their elders and protect them against this virus.”
