Drop in enrolments for KZN’s matric exams

IN LESS Than a month, nearly 800 000 matriculants will sit down for the final exams for the class of 2017.

Briefing the basic education portfolio on exam readiness for matric yesterday, the director of examination and assessment, Priscilla Ogunbanjo, said the registration of candidates and examination centres was complete.

“Looking at the enrolments for 2017, we can see we have 636 814 full-time candidates that have enrolled to write this examination and 161 475 part-time candidates, giving us a total of 798 289 for this year,” Ogunbanjo said.

The total number of enrolled candidates had dropped by about 37 000 from last year.

“You see the difference is most significant in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape,” Ogunbanjo said.

A total of 828 020 registered to write matric last year. She said there was a decrease in enrolments in some subjects, particularly mathematics literacy and mathematics.

Ogunbanjo said the enrolment for maths in 2016 was 42% and this year 43.9%. “The trend in enrolments has been in favour of mathematics rather than mathematics literacy. Decreases in other subjects were general reductions also in line with the general number decrease with total enrolments.”

Ogunbanjo also said the setting of question papers had been completed. These had been approved by Umalusi and schools were now writing preliminary exam papers that were moderated in line with final exams. She said an independent auditing company was commissioned to conduct an audit of the processes, from the setting to the printing of question papers.

This was to address exam irregularities after last year’s leakage of the maths paper in Giyani.

Ogunbanjo also said a number of weaknesses were identified, particularly at the Government Printing Works, which had since been attended to.

She said the reduction in group copying had been noted across all provincial education districts. Districts had categorised centres according risk profile, Ogunbanjo said.