1. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) wishes to draw your attention to the procedures and guidelines that must be adhered to during the conduct of the final practical examinations for Computer Applications Technology (CAT) and Information Technology (IT).

2. This minute must be read in conjunction with Annexure G of the Regulations pertaining to the Conduct, Administration and Management of the National Senior Certificate (amended), published in Government Gazette No. 31337 of 29 August 2008.

3. Teachers and schools must verify that the software tools they use to implement CAT and IT comply with the content and skills listed in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for CAT and IT. Question papers will not be adapted for software tools that do not comply with CAPS.

4. The November 2017 CAT examination makes provision for the following software packages:

  1. The latest three versions of Microsoft Office will be allowed — MS Office 2010, MS Office 2013 and MS Office 2016 (also known as MS Office 365)
  2. HTML editor, e.g. Notepad ++ for the development of web pages
5. The November 2017 IT examination makes provision for learner files to be used with the following software packages:

  1. Delphi
  2. Delphi 2010 and upwards
  3. MS Access 2010 and upwards
6. All schools offering CAT and/or IT will be audited by subject advisers.

7. A maximum of two examination sessions is allowed on the day of the examination. The following timeframes are suggested for the sessions respectively:

  1. ONE SESSION
DESCRIPTION DURATION TIME
Seated in computer laboratory   08:30 – 08:35
Handing out access cards, log-on process and the renaming of examination folder 15 minutes 08:35 – 08:50
Reading time 10 minutes 08:50 – 09:00
Paper 1 (Practical) 3 hours 09:00 – 12:00
Finalise checking, retrieve folders, save to CDs/DVDs 120 minutes (will depend on the number of candidates) 12:00 – 14:00
  1. TWO SESSIONS
DESCRIPTION DURATION TIME: FIRST SESSION TIME: SECOND SESSION
Seated in computer laboratory   07:30 – 07:35 13:00 – 13:05
Handing out access cards, log-on process and the renaming of examination folder 15 minutes 07:35 – 07:50 13:05 – 13:20
Reading time 10 minutes 07:50 – 08:00 13:20 – 13:30
Paper 1 (Practical) 3 hours 08:00 – 11:00 13:30 – 16:30
Finalise checking, retrieve folders, save to CDs/DVDs 120 minutes (will depend on the number of candidates) 11:00 – 13:00 16:30 – 18:30
8. Where there are two sessions, candidates and their parents MUST be informed in writing of the arrangements. Candidates for the second session must report an hour before the end of the first session.

9. Candidates may not leave the examination venue until all administrative processes regarding the conduct of the practical examination have been completed.

10. Schools are reminded of the following general roles and responsibilities of the chief invigilators, teachers and candidates:
10.1 Before the commencement of the practical examination, the chief invigilator must ensure that all candidates:

  1. are issued with their access cards and randomly placed at computers, upon entering the examination room;
  2. are taken through the log-on process and the renaming of their examination folder;
  3. write their examination numbers on the access cards and the invigilator staples the completed access card to the upper left-hand side of the candidate’s information sheet; and
  4. are reminded to save their work frequently and correctly.
10.2 During the practical examination the chief invigilator must ensure that:

  1. in addition to the invigilator, an experienced CAT or IT teacher is present during all practical sessions, so that he or she can provide assistance when necessary;
  2. all invigilation requirements are strictly adhered to;
  3. all security processes are carried out under the supervision of the chief invigilator; and
  4. the correct procedures are followed in the case of a power failure.
10.3 After the practical examination the chief invigilator must ensure that:

  1. candidates check whether all their files are saved in their examination folders and labelled with their correct examination numbers;
  2. candidates complete the information sheet and ensure that the information matches their examination folders;
  3. the teacher retrieves all candidate folders via the network or uses a flash drive to copy all the candidate folders onto one central computer or server, and checks that each candidate’s files in their folder corresponds with the information on their information sheet;
  4. the teacher saves all candidate folders to CDs/DVDs to be submitted for marking and creates two back-up CDs/DVDs at the same time, one of which must be safely stored at the examination centre and the other submitted to the examination section;
  5. candidate files are not saved on flash drives as the risk of losing files to viruses is greater with flash drives.
10.4 The CAT/IT teacher must check that all candidate folders, labelled with the respective candidate’s examination number, have been saved onto the CDs/DVDs and that the files and folders can all open, before the CDs/DVDs are packed and handed over to the chief invigilator.
10.5 Should candidate folders or files be missing, the teacher must try to recover the missing or damaged folders or files before creating the CDs/DVDs.
10.6 The number of candidate folders saved to CDs/DVDs must correlate with the number of candidates listed on the mark sheet.
10.7 A full report on any technical problems or irregularities that may have occurred during the examination must be submitted to the Directorate: Examinations Administration.
10.8 The CAT/IT teacher, together with the invigilators, must complete and sign the checklist (Annexure A) and submit it to the Directorate: Examinations Administration.

11. Any queries regarding the procedures for the practical examination or emergencies must be directed to Mr I Francis on tel. no. 021 467 2549 or email address Ighsaan.Francis@westerncape.gov.za.

12. Kindly ensure that a copy of this minute is provided to all CAT and IT teachers and invigilators.


SIGNED: PAD BEETS
DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL: CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT MANAGEMENT
DATE: 2017:09:29

Government Gazette No. 31337 - Annexure G  (size: 218 KB)
Annexure A: Computer Applications Technology and Information Technology 2017 checklist  (size: 77 KB)