Umalusi Approves Release of November 2023 Matric Exam Results

National education quality assurance body, Umalusi, has given the green light for the release of the November 2023 National Senior Certificate (NSC) exam results. This announcement was made by Umalusi council chairperson, Professor Yunus Ballim, during a press conference on Monday.

Over 890,000 fulltime and part-time candidates took part in the matric exams administered by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) towards the end of 2023.

After carefully reviewing all the evidence presented, the EXCO of Council concluded that the exams were conducted in compliance with the regulations and guidelines set for the NSC exams. As a result, the DBE is approved to release the November 2023 NSC examination results.

While certain irregularities were identified during the writing and marking phases of the exams, they were determined to be isolated incidents and did not compromise the overall credibility and integrity of the NSC exams.

As per the directives from Umalusi, the DBE will temporarily block the results of candidates implicated in irregularities, pending the outcome of investigations by the DBE and verification by Umalusi. It was also noted that printing and packaging errors in question papers, as well as instances of group copying, are ongoing concerns that need to be addressed.

In order to improve compliance and overall performance, the DBE is required to submit an improvement plan by March 15, 2024, addressing the highlighted areas in the quality assurance of assessment report.

The official announcement of the exam results will be made by DBE Minister Angie Motshekga on Thursday, January 18, with the general release of results scheduled for the next day.

During the press conference, Umalusi CEO Dr Mafu Rakometsi highlighted some of the challenges faced by learners during the exams. These challenges included printing errors, poor print and translation quality on certain exam papers.

To minimize the impact of these errors on candidates’ performance, the affected questions were excluded from the marking process, and the marks achieved were adjusted using conversion tables.

Additionally, Umalusi expressed concern over group copying incidents involving 945 NSC candidates that were detected by the DBE. These cases are currently being verified, with the majority found in KwaZulu-Natal (763 cases) and Mpumalanga (164 cases).

However, it was reassuring to note that there were no instances of paper leakages, confirming the credibility and integrity of the exams.

Umalusi urges all stakeholders to take stringent measures in order to prevent future errors and ensure a fair assessment for all candidates, where external factors do not negatively impact their performance.

Sources: SAnews.gov.za