Matric “second chance” exam results released

Matric results for the May/June “second chance” examinations are out.

The second chance exams are offered to adult candidates that have not attained a matric qualification and also to candidates that wrote the previous November examinations but may not have met the requirements for a certificate or may have passed but wish to improve their results.

According to the Department of Basic Education (DBE) 239 024 candidates enrolled to write these examinations which started on May 26 and ended on July 7.

The number of candidates that sat for the May/June 2021 examinations included those writing the National Senior Certificate (NSC) and Senior Certificate (SC) candidates.

There were 95 525 National Senior Certificate candidates and 143 499 Senior Certificate candidates.

“The May/June 2021 examination was written by a diverse cohort of candidates, comprising employed adults, unemployed youth and school learners that wrote the previous Grade 12 examination in November 2020,” the DBE said.

The criteria for the registration of the May/June examination included the following:

• Adult learners with incomplete Senior Certificate requirements, as well as those adult learners with no previous Senior Certificate credits, provided they have completed Grade 9 (or Standard 7) or ABET Level IV.
• Candidates that enrolled for the 2020 NSC examination who failed the examination or passed but wanted to improve their results.
• Learners that may have dropped out of school in Grade 10 or Grade 11 owing to special circumstances.
• Candidates who were absent from the November 2020 examination, with a valid reason.

According to the department, this year’s second chance examinations were a success despite the challenges of the lockdown.

Candidates who tested positive for Covid-19 and those who showed symptoms wrote the examinations in isolation venues.

The marking of the 772 404 exam scripts was undertaken by 9 323 markers at 54 marking centres across the country. The marking was completed during the school holidays in July.

On August 12, the Council for Quality Assurance, having scrutinised the reports from the DBE and Umalusi monitors, approved the release of the results to candidates.