STATEMENT BY MINISTER ANGIE MOTSHEKGA ON THE RESULTS OF THE SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMS
I am pleased to announce the results of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) Supplementary Examinations. The exams commenced on 11 February 2013 and concluded on Tuesday, 19 March 2013. The exams took place in 5 288 centres and there were 12 marking centres with 3 072 markers involved. The marking process across provinces commenced on 20 March 2013 and was successfully concluded on 7 April 2013.
The Department of Basic Education ensured that all processes that usually accompany a high-stakes exit-level examination were fully accomplished in this examination. The DBE is responsible for the setting of all question papers for the NSC examination to ensure adherence to national norms and standards, as defined in the National Education Policy Act of 1996.
A total of 86 113 candidates enrolled for the NSC Supplementary Examination in February/March 2013 and 62 682 candidates finally wrote the examination. Of the 62 682 candidates that wrote the supplementary examination, the larger number are candidates that wrote the 2012 November examination and are now retaking the examination to improve their results. A small number are those who were absent for the November examination, based on medical reasons or other reasons that are regarded as valid reasons for missing an examination. A small number of candidates (33) registered to write all subjects and these are candidates that may have missed the entire examination due to ill health or other special circumstances.
The total number of candidates that enrolled for the 2013 NSC Supplementary Examination was less than the candidates who enrolled in 2012. The number of enrolments in 2012 was 91 250 and 68 116 candidates finally wrote the Supplementary Examination in 2012. The decrease in enrolment in 2013 is understandable, given the improved pass rate in 2013, which will justify a lower number of candidates seeking to write the Supplementary Examination. However, it is of concern that a significant number of candidates that enrolled for the examination did not show up across all Provincial Education Departments (PEDs).
In 2013, a total of 23 431 candidates did not pitch to write the examination, with KwaZulu-Natal recording the highest number of "no-shows" (8 531) followed by the Eastern Cape (5 901). The 27% of candidates that registered but did not arrive to write the examination has serious implications in terms of costs incurred in the running of this examination.
The Supplementary 2013 question papers were set and moderated concurrently with the question papers for the November 2012 examination to ensure that these papers are of comparable standard, given that these two examinations are regarded as one sitting. External moderators from Umalusi verified, evaluated and approved all question papers. The rigorous external moderation process ensured that the question papers were of high quality and of an appropriate standard. All question papers were set within the secure environment of the DBE offices.
A total of 262 question papers were set by the DBE for the November 2012 and Supplementary 2013 examinations, with 130 of these question papers set for the Supplementary Examination. In order to cater for learners with special needs, a total of 23 question papers were brailled for blind learners and 13 papers were adapted for deaf learners.
There was an overall reduction in the number of irregularities in all provinces. The examination was conducted with integrity and without any serious irregularity which could compromise the integrity of the examination, as a whole.
The reported irregularities prevalent during the writing of the 2013 Supplementary Examination across the PEDs included: copying; crib notes; late start of examination sessions due to technical problems, possession of unauthorised material by candidates, candidates with no or improper identification, candidates whose names/examination numbers did not appear on the mark sheet, and candidates who did not receive admission letters, despite having registered. All these challenges were dealt with appropriately and did not affect the integrity of the examinations.
The Supplementary Examination is part of the November 2012 NSC examination. Therefore, there is no separate standardisation process for the Supplementary Examination results. The standardisation decisions of the November 2012 examination are applied to the Supplementary Examination results. The School-Based Assessment (SBA) marks submitted for the November examinations are also used for candidates who write this examination.
The results of the candidates are made available at the centre of registration. A statement of results reflecting the Supplementary results, as well as a statement with combined results, is presented
A summary of the gains emanating from the 2013 Supplementary Examination is as follows:
(a) the total number of candidates that achieved the NSC has increased from 377 829 to 392 178, an increase of 14 349 candidates;
(b) the total number of candidates that obtained admission to Higher Certificate studies has increased from 88 604 to 98 256, an increase of 9 652 candidates;
(c) the number of candidates that obtained an admission to Diploma studies has increased from 152 881 to 156 148, an increase of 3 267 candidates; and
(d) the number of candidates that obtained admission to Bachelor studies has increased from 136 047 to 137 251, which is an increase of 1204 candidates.
The overall pass rate has increased from 73.9% to 75.6%, which confirms that the Department of Basic Education should be capable of attaining its targeted pass rate of 75% in the 2013 NSC examination.
Statement issued by Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga, May 27 2013
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