Gauteng all set for matric exams, says Education MEC Chiloane

JOHANNESBURG - The Gauteng education department says it's all systems go for the 2024 final matric exams. 

Close to 190,000 pupils are set to start their final exams next week, including 136,000 full-time pupils and 53,000 part-time students. 

The department has urged pupils to remain calm ahead of their exams and maintain focus. 

High-level security mechanisms have been put in place to ensure the tests at the 1,000 exam centres across the province are without incident. 

In 2023, the national department launched an investigation following allegations of cheating involving more than 100 pupils in six provinces.

MEC Matome Chiloane said cheating incidents would not be tolerated. 

"Those who are found to have transgressed, they know they will be removed from the examination centre. They can even be removed entirely from writing the NSC [National Senior Certificate], banned for a number of years, depending on the gravity of the transgression. It’s going to greatly affect them."

Chiloane was speaking at a pledge signing ceremony on Friday at the Ahmed Timol Secondary School, where he also addressed the cases of children falling ill from allegedly eating from spaza shops.

The MEC said the department has engaged with schools across the province to be on high alert following the recent surge of food poisonings allegedly due to contaminated food bought from spaza shops.

The province has been hit by a wave of hospitalisations due to children consuming allegedly poisoned snacks.

Chiloane said shops selling these products must account.
 
"We’ve alerted our schools that they need to be extra cautious. The schools also need to assist the law enforcement to go and trace."