Media Release

[Mark Hensberg]

GRADE 12 TRIAL EXAMINATIONS RE-SCHEDULED


The Provincial Department of Education, at an urgent meeting convened
at the Head Office this morning, took a decision to re-schedule the
Grade 12 Trial Examination due to the ongoing national public service
industrial action.


The Department placed URGENT NOTICES in local newspapers and radio
stations informing learners that a revised time table has been
compiled and the examinations have been rescheduled for 30 August to
23 September 2010. Assessment Instruction 41 of 2010 dated 23 August
2010 was sent out as an urgent notice informing schools of the
rescheduling and the new amended timetable.


The Acting Superintendent General Ronnie Swartz stated: “We regret any
inconvenience this may cause. We urge all our learners to continue
with their normal study programme and their study groups. We further
urge civil society, parents, SGBs and volunteers to assist our
learners and schools in what ever manner that will enable them to
maximise the remaining time ahead of the final examinations.”


The Provincial Trial Examinations is a crucial step in the preparation
of our learners for the Final National Senior Certificate Exams that
starts on 15 October 2010. This examination is a massive exercise
involving 69 552 full-time registered candidates, writing 80 papers in
29 subjects. The province has printed a total of 1 058million question
papers and will utilise a budget of R5 02million for this important
initiative.


Suren Govender, Head of Curriculum Management asserted that “As a
department, it is essential that we do everything reasonably possible
to ensure that our Grade 12 learners are afforded the opportunity to
write this important exam. The trial exams enable learners to reflect
on the extent of their subject knowledge, identify their individual
weaknesses and challenges, evaluate their personal capacity to manage
exam conditions including time management and to structure a remedial
and revision programme in preparation for the national final
examinations.”


Furthermore, the Department identifies with learners and parents who
are concerned that any disruption to the Grade 12 Trial Exams will
prejudice them in several ways: Trial Exam marks are used by several
Higher Education Institutions for preliminary admission, private
companies use trial results for preliminary awarding of bursaries and
finances, and the provincial school based assessment policy includes
the Trial Exams as part of the 25% that each learner must have in
order to be resulted by UMALUSI, the National Accreditation body, at
the end of the year.


While being mindful of the constitutional rights of the civil servants
of South Africa it is also important to respect and protect the rights
of our children, especially Grade 12 learners at this critical time of
the year. Therefore, a special appeal is made to all education
stakeholders, especially SGBs, parents, school communities and
educators to support the Grade 12 class of 2010 to prepare for the
final examinations and in so doing for their future.


N.B.: Revised Time Table Attached


Issued by: Communication Unit, EC Department of Education


Enquiries: Loyiso Pulumani (083 275 0675)