1. In terms of the Regulations pertaining to the National Curriculum Statement Grades R–12, promulgated per Notice No. R1114, in Regulation Gazette No. 9886 of 28 December 2012, a learner may only be retained once in the Further Education and Training (FET) Phase, in order to prevent the learner from being retained in this phase for longer than four years.

2. This implies that a learner who does not meet the promotion requirements in Grade 10 or Grade 11 after repeating the grade, may be allowed to progress to the next grade. However, such a learner must satisfy all the requirements of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) at the end of Grade 12, in order to be awarded the NSC.

3. Considering this, progression to either Grade 11 or Grade 12 is subject to the following criteria:

  1. The learner must have failed either Grade 10 or Grade 11 and repeated either Grade 10 or Grade 11.
  2. The learner must achieve 30% in four of the seven subjects offered for the NSC, comprising Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) and three other subjects from Groups A and/or B including Life Orientation.
  3. The learner must have attended school on a regular basis. Absenteeism in excess of 20 teaching days, without a valid reason, will disqualify the learner from being progressed. This constitutes irregular attendance.
  4. The learner must comply with the prescribed School-based Assessment (SBA) requirements for all subjects offered, including the failed subjects.
4. Learners who were progressed from Grade 11 to Grade 12 only, may be afforded the Multiple Examination Opportunity (MEO) at the end of Grade 12, in order to successfully complete his/her NSC examinations.

5. The MEO is a concession granted to write a minimum of four subjects (including Life Orientation) in the Grade 12 year and the remaining subjects in the June examinations of the following year and may be offered only if all the following criteria are met:

The Grade 12 learner must:

  1. have been progressed from Grade 11 to Grade 12;
  2. have completed all his/her SBA requirements in all seven subjects in Grade 12;
  3. have attended school on a regular basis (absenteeism not in excess of 20 teaching days, without a valid reason);
  4. have written the September examinations in all subjects; and
  5. have failed a minimum of three subjects in the September 2018 examinations.
6. The MEO option was created to accommodate learners who are progressed from Grade 11 to Grade 12 but who, based on their performance in Grade 12, may show that they are unable to cope with the demand of writing all six subjects in one sitting.

7. As from November 2018, all schools together with the parents/guardians and learners must adhere to the procedures relating to the progression dispensation and the application of the MEO.
7.1 After the decision about the progression of a Grade 11 learner to Grade 12 has been made at school level, the parents/guardians of all progressed learners will be requested to sign a Commitment Agreement (Annexure A) where:

  1. the parent/guardian acknowledges that his/her son/daughter has not met the criteria to be promoted to Grade 12;
  2. the parent/guardian acknowledges that his/her son/daughter has been granted a special concession to be progressed to Grade 12; and
  3. the parent/guardian acknowledges that the principal will, in consultation with them, request them to sign an application (Annexure B) for the learner to follow the MEO at the end of Grade 12, if the learner satisfies all the criteria.
7.2 This process must be concluded by 20 January each year. The signed Commitment Agreement must be filed at school and be available for verification.
7.3 The principal and circuit manager must ensure that the status of the learner who progresses, is correctly indicated on CEMIS by 20 January each year.
7.4 The principal must throughout the Grade 12 year, give adequate support to the progressed learner.
7.5 The principal must monitor the performance of the progressed learner in each of the quarters and provide the parent/guardian with a written report on the learner’s progress at the end of each quarter.
7.6 Each quarterly report must indicate the subject(s) in which the learner is not performing well and the learner may consequently be requested to defer the writing of that subject(s) to the June examination of the following year.
7.7 This means that the decision on whether a progressed learner will follow the MEO option, will be dependent on the learner’s performance in the individual subject in quarter one and quarter two, and in the preparatory examination in quarter three. The performance in the preparatory examination will be the main deciding factor in determining whether a learner will be requested to follow the MEO option.
7.8 After the preparatory examination in September, the principal must consult with the parent/guardian and the progressed learner about the application for the option to the MEO.

  1. The option to the MEO is only applicable to learners who are progressed to Grade 12 and who comply with all five criteria.
  2. Learners who were progressed to Grade 12 and demonstrate an acceptable performance level in all subjects in their Grade 12 year, will be allowed to write all six subjects in the Grade 12 examination.
  3. The principal will indicate on the application, Annexure B, the four subjects (including Life Orientation) to be written in the Grade 12 year and the three subjects to be written in the June examination of the following year.
  4. The principal must keep the signed Annexure B and other relevant documentation, should evidence be requested by the district office or Head Office.
  5. The identification of the MEO learners must be done on CEMIS.
8. Districts must monitor the schools closely to ensure that the policy pertaining to learner progression and the Multiple Examination Opportunity is applied appropriately.

9. The decisions made about progression and the MEO must be done in the best interest of the learner.

10. You are kindly requested to bring the contents of this circular to the attention of all teachers, parents/guardians and learners at your school.


SIGNED: HA LEWIS
ACTING HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2018:12:10

Regulation Gazette No. 9886  (size: 854 KB)
Annexure A: Commitment Agreement  (size: 64 KB)
Annexure B: Application for Multiple Examination Opportunity (MEO)  (size: 53 KB)