One matric exam for all?

Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi wants all matric pupils to write the same examinations.

SABC Online quotes Lesufi as saying a single independent body must be urgently established to set exams for all matric pupils. This would see the scrapping of the Independent Examinations Board (IEB).

Ninty-eight.8% of matric pupils who wrote IEB exams passed. This is a slight increase from the 98.7% pass rate in 2016.

Although the IEB exams are accredited by Umalusi, they are different from those the basic education department offers.

Lesufi said: “I hope and wish this is the last time that as one country we have two examinations.

“All our children are going through the same economy. All our children are going to the same universities.

“This thing of having two examinations, IEB and National Senior Certificate, I think must come to an end.

“We are quite excited that there is a possibility that the [recent] ANC conference resolution will indicate there must be one examination.”

Earlier this year, he told News24 that it was unfair that South Africa was rated internationally based only on the results of government exams. He suggested that if the results of IEB candidates were included in international benchmark assessments, South Africa’s grade might rise.

However, he was criticised on social media, with many posters accusing him of trying to fix something which was not broken instead of improving government education.

This thing of having two examinations, IEB and National Senior Certificate, I think must come to an end. Panyaza Lesufi Gauteng Education MEC