South Africa News

Parents in Limpopo concerned about COVID-19 regulations regarding matric exams

There are calls for the government to revise regulations that stipulate that learners who test positive for the COVID-19 during the exam period will not be able to complete their remaining papers.

Some parents in Limpopo have raised concerns that the regulation around children with COVID-19 being only allowed to complete their matric next year will negatively affect learners.

Almost 150 000 Grade 12 learners are expected to start writing their final exams at Limpopo public schools on Thursday.

The class of 2019 in Limpopo ranked last in the matric pass rate, at 73.2%. One of the concerned parents, Percy Ramutsindela, says the pandemic has negatively affected his child’s studies.

He says his daughter wants to study fashion design next year.

Matrics writing exams

“My child is so into clothing designing and she has been saying to me, ‘daddy, have you applied already in Pretoria, in Venda? ‘You sit down and look at what is happening and let’s say she tests positive, what’s going to happen?”

Ramutsindela worries that some COVID-19 regulations may lead to even lower pass rates for the class of 2020.

The Limpopo Education Department’s Chief Director of Examination, Ntlhashana Mphahlele, says there is sufficient classroom space to ensure adherence to lockdown regulations during the exams

“We have about 13 630 classrooms available in our secondary schools. You are talking about a ratio of 1 is to 30 in terms of the invigilators. For full-time candidates, we need only 2 965 classes to be able to manage these exams. When you combine also with the repeat part-time centres, you only need 8 070 classrooms. So, we are more than ready in terms of accommodation, in terms of space.”

SABC News was not granted permission to enter any school in the province, with the Provincial Education Department stating that schools were going through final preparations for exams on Thursday.

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Source: sabcnews