In KwaZulu-Natal, the Class of 2022 has had to overcome additional hurdles, while the province is still struggling to recover from the devastating floods which took place in April 2022. These additional hurdles include Covid-19 lockdowns, looting of schools and loadshedding.
According to the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU), these matriculants have lost a lot of teaching time due to these situations. In addition, the union is concerned that loadshedding may interrupt the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams.
Subjects such as Computer Applications Technology (CAT) and Information Technology (IT) require electricity to do their examinations. However, if loadshedding takes place these examinations will need to be postponed which will further delay the release of their Grade 12 results.
The union also voiced another concern which is a lack of transport for learners who walk long distances to get to school. The members have stated that walking for hours to get to school may affect the learners’ ability to do well in their exams because they will be exhausted by the time they get to school.
In an effort to address the issue, SADTU suggested that the department provide these learners with scholar busses to get to school. The union believes that it is very important for all these matters to be addressed before the learners sit down for their first NSC exam.
Sibusiso Malinga, from the National Teachers’ Union, said that they “appeal that the department should provide generators as backups” in case loadshedding is scheduled during the exams. However, they do appreciate the department sitting down with Eskom to try and prevent loadshedding from affecting school exams.
According to the MEC of Education Mbali Frazer, the department has sat down to address the issues, which includes providing learners with buses to get to school. The provision of buses will ensure that learners get to school on time to write their exams.
The MEC of Education also stated that the province would like to aim for an 80% pass rate. The pass rate takes into account all the struggles that these learners have encountered. However, she is hoping that all learners will pass their exams.
