1. To qualify for a National Senior Certificate (NSC), candidates must offer 7 subjects chosen from the approved list of subjects, as contained in the policy document, The National Senior Certificate: A Qualification on Level 4 of the National Qualifications Framework.

2. Two official languages must be offered, on condition that one of the two languages is offered at the Home Language level and the other at Home- or First Additional Language level. One of the two languages must be the language of learning and teaching.

3. The granting of language exemptions to immigrant learners is also applicable to the General Education and Training Band.

4. Definition of an immigrant for the purposes of the National Senior Certificate examinations

The National Policy pertaining to the Programme and Promotion Requirements of the National Curriculum Statement for Grades R-12, as published in Government Gazette No. 34600, dated 12 September 2011, defines an immigrant as follows:

  1. A child or a dependent of a diplomatic representative of a foreign government accredited in South Africa, or

  2. a person who

    1. first enrolled at and entered a South African school in Grade 7 or a more senior grade, or

    2. having begun his or her schooling at a school in South Africa, has attended a school outside South Africa for two or more consecutive years after Grade 3 or its equivalent and before Grade 9 or its equivalent, and has subsequently returned to South Africa.
5. Language exemptions for immigrant learners
5.1 An immigrant learner, as defined above, may offer only one (1) official language on at least the First Additional Language level and must achieve a pass mark of at least 30% in the language, provided that another subject is offered from Group B, as indicated in the policy document, The National Senior Certificate: A Qualification at Level 4 on the National Qualifications Framework, published in Government Gazette No. 27819 of 20 July 2005, as amended.
5.2 Instead of offering another subject from Group B, as referred to in paragraph 5.1 above, in place of the official language which is not offered, an immigrant learner may offer his or her home language, subject to the following:
5.2.1 That home language must appear at Home Language level on the list in Table B4.
5.2.2 In the absence of the home language of the immigrant in Group B, such learner may offer his or her home language on the A level of the General Certificate of Education (GCE) of the United Kingdom or through an examination approved by the education department for this purpose as equivalent to Home Language level.

The learners are required to pass their home language within the period which begins 6 months before they write the NSC examinations and ends 6 months after they write their NSC examinations. The result of this home language examination must be sent to the Western Cape Education Department without delay for the purpose of issuing a certificate.

The onus rests with the learner to make the necessary arrangements for the A-level examination with the British Council at the following address:

The British Council
Examinations Services
33 Hoofdt Street
Braampark,
Forum 1, Ground Floor
BRAAMFONTEIN
2001

Tel. no. 086 001 2233

6. Application for language exemption
6.1 The attached form (Addendum A) must be completed when applying for language exemption, and must be accompanied by certified copies of the following:

  1. The applicable official document issued by the Department of Home Affairs

  2. The applicable official document issued by the school at which the learner first entered the South African school system
6.2 All applications for language exemption must be submitted to the WCED, via the school principal.
6.3 The WCED’s letter granting language exemption will be sent to the school.
6.4 The date of approval of the language exemption must, in the case of a full-time learner, be entered on the learner’s record card. The letter of approval must be attached to the record card if the learner concerned transfers to another school.
6.5 An application for a language exemption must be submitted immediately after the learner is admitted for the first time to a South African school and must not be left until he or she registers for an examination.
6.6 Learners residing temporarily in South Africa require a study permit issued by the Department of Home Affairs. Certified copies of the learner’s passport and temporary residence permit must accompany an application for language exemption.

N.B.: All applications for language exemption must be submitted to the WCED’s Directorate: Examinations Administration before 31 July 2012 for the current cohort of Grade 12 learners, and thereafter before 15 March annually.

7. It is imperative that principals of primary schools also take note of the criteria applying to language exemption.

8. Should you require further information regarding any of the regulations contained in this minute, please contact: Ms V du Plessis at telephone number 021 467 2162.

9. School principals and district officials are requested to bring the content of this minute to the attention of parents and teachers concerned.


SIGNED: BK SCHREUDER
DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL: CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT MANAGEMENT
DATE: 2012:07:05

Goverment Gazette No 34600  (size: 115 KB)
Addendum A: Application form for language exemption for Immigrant learners  (size: 88 KB)