Johannesburg - The department of basic education on Tuesday said it was ready to administer the 2016 Grade 12 National Senior Certificate examination.
The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education was briefed by a the team from the department on their readiness for this year’s examinations.
In a statement issued by the department, registration of centres and candidates had been completed and final verification of the data is currently underway. Question papers had been set and externally moderated, the department said.
There are 677 141 registered full time and 150 183 part-time candidates in the 2016 examinations. This is 9 000 more than 2015, and once again the largest enrolment came from KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, with 169 769 and 112 069 registered respectively.
There was a decline in those who choose Maths Literacy whilst there was an increase in the uptake of mathematics.
Department Head of Public Examinations and Assessments Rufus Poliah told the portfolio committee that there had been improvements in access, redress and equity.
He also said that the department did not only focus on system readiness but that it was implementing programmes to ensure that learners received support.
These include language support, subject specific content support, tracking learner performance, and support for progressed learners.
All storage points will be audited to ensure they comply with the minimum security standards across the country to avoid leakage of 2016 question papers.
The examinations will begin on October 26 and conclude on November 29.
The results would be announced on January 4, 2017.
African News Agency