Today marks the last day of the 2024 Grade 12 exams and the Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, said the department will continue publishing matric results in newspapers like they have been doing throughout the years. Gwarube was speaking to the media yesterday, updating them on how the Grade 12 examinations went.
RESULTS TO BE PUBLISHED IN NEWSPAPERS
Gwarube said the 2024 matric exams were mostly successful, despite a few minor challenges with question papers. She added that hundreds of learners had to reschedule their exams due to flooding in provinces like the Eastern Cape. "Despite some challenges, the overall administration of these exams has been successful, with minimal irregularities thanks to the collective efforts of dedicated educators, administrators and learners themselves," she said. On the publication of the results in newspapers, Gwarube said they will continue to publish them despite the Information Regulator announcing over a week ago that they have banned the publication of the matric results after it found that the Department was in breach of the conditions for the lawful processing of personal information. Gwarube said they believe they will not be violating the learner's personal information. "Our view is that the benefit of being able to access your results on a publicly accessible platform is useful and we don't think the publication of a unique exam number will contravene somebody's information," she said, adding that it will take an interdict by the court to halt them.
MARKING OF THE EXAM PAPERS
With the exams concluded, the minister said their focus has shifted to the marking process. "While exam writing may be over, the task of marking, standardising and processing results lies ahead. We must remain focused and committed to ensuring the accuracy and integrity of this process," she said. She said this is a critical phase in determining the outcomes of our learners' hard work. "We have set up 181 marking centres across the country, audited and deemed ready to begin operations on 27 November 2024. More than 50,000 markers will be involved in this extensive marking task," she said.
