Motshekga wishes class of 2009 well

By Khanyisa Tabata
24 October 2009

Speaking at her office in Pretoria on yesterday, Basic Education minister Angie Motshekga said that with only a few days left before the start of the examinations; this was a crucial and challenging time for Grade 12 learners.

While the minister was sure matriculants had been studying hard throughout the year, she appealed to them to use these last few days constructively to ensure they were ready for the exams.

All provinces have reported that they are ready and well prepared for the examinations.

The department will continue to monitor and support provincial education departments in the final preparations and administration of the examinations.

The exams will kick off on Monday with learners sitting for a two-hour paper on German, Portuguese, Hebrew, first and second additional languages as well as an Electronic Technology.

According to the department, a total of 581 573 full time candidates are expected to sit for the exams, with an additional 38 595 learners who will be sitting as repeat candidates.

Learners will write 197 papers that will be marked by more than 30 000 markers. This means that around 12 million marks will be captured during the entire process, said the department.

The matric results will be released on 7 January 2010, instead of December, to allow more time to verify and check all results before they are released.