1. This minute serves to clarify the Regulations pertaining to the Conduct, Administration and Management of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) Examination with regard to the period of validity of School-Based Assessment (SBA), Practical Assessment Task (PAT), Practical Assessment and Language Oral marks. 2. 3.
2. Regulation 7, sub-regulation (3) in the amended Regulations pertaining to the Conduct, Administration and Management of the NSC Examination (Government Gazette No. 35429 of 7 June 2012) states that "The School-Based Assessment mark obtained by a repeat candidate in his or her last NSC examination will be valid for a period of five (5) years following the date of the first NSC examination written by the candidate".
3. In terms of this regulation, the SBA, PAT, Practical Assessment and Language Oral marks of a candidate who wrote the NSC examination in 2008 and subsequent years will be valid for five (5) years after the date of the examination as indicated in Table 1.

Table 1:
YEAR OF FIRST NSC EXAMINATION PERIOD OF VALIDITY
2008 November 2013 and the subsequent supplementary examination
2009 November 2014 and the subsequent supplementary examination
2010 November 2015 and the subsequent supplementary examination
2011 November 2016 and the subsequent supplementary examination
2012 November 2017 and the subsequent supplementary examination
2013 November 2018 and the subsequent supplementary examination

4. Regulation 7, sub-regulation (l) (page 13) in the Regulations pertaining to the Conduct, Administration and Management of the NSC Examination (Government Gazette No. 37651 of 16 May 2014) states that "From 2014 the period of validity will change from five (5) years to three (3) years, provided that an alternative qualification for repeaters and part-time candidates has been developed.
5. From 2014 onwards, the period of validity of SBA, PAT, Practical Assessment and Language Oral marks changes from five (5) years to three (3) years after the first sitting of the NSC examination i.e. repeater candidates who wrote the 2014 NSC examination only have until 2017 to complete their NSC without having to submit new SBA, PAT, Practical Assessment and/or Language Oral marks.

The following table indicates the period of validity from 2014 until further notice:
YEAR OF FIRST NSC EXAMINATION PERIOD OF VALIDITY
2014 November 2017 and the subsequent supplementary examination
2015 November 2018 and the subsequent supplementary examination
2016 November 2019 and the subsequent supplementary examination

6. Principals are kindly requested to bring this information to the attention of all repeater candidates as well as the 2015 cohort of learners.


SIGNED: BK SCHREUDER
DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL: CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT MANAGEMENT
DATE: 2015:04:08