The Western Cape #ClassOf2022 in numbers

Statement by Minister David Maynier, Minister of Education Western Cape

A total of 73 846 candidates will write the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams in the Western Cape this year. Of these, 62 361 are full-time candidates, and 11 485 are part-time candidates.

The exams begin with English Home Language, First Additional Language, and Second Additional Language, on Monday 31 October 2022, with 64 824 will write in the morning session. 124 papers are written over the exam period.

The subject with the largest number of candidates writing is Mathematical Literacy, with 49 672 candidates writing Paper 1 on 4 November 2022 and Paper 2 on 7 November 2022

In contrast, seven subjects have a single candidate writing in our province: Hebrew Second Additional Language, IsiZulu Home Language, Latin Second Additional Language, Sepedi First Additional Language, Sepedi Home Language, Sesotho First Additional Language, and Sport and Exercise Science.

The exams will be overseen by 1 889 invigilators at 478 examination centres. 870 000 answer scripts will then be marked by our 3 313 markers at 11 marking centres. The invigilators and the markers received training during October 2022.

With exams of this scale, it is crucial that we not face any disruptions. We appeal to all social organisations, political groups and communities to ensure that exams can take place without disruption, and not to compromise our matrics’ chances in any way. Our matrics must be our province’s VIPs for the duration of the exams.

The Minister of Basic Education will announce the national results on Thursday, 19 January 2023, and individual results will be available at schools and online on Friday, 20 January 2023.

We are pleased that our practical exams were completed without incident this week, despite load shedding concerns. Load shedding is less of an issue for the written exams, as venues are required to have natural light, and if there are any problems, learners can be shifted to another venue to write. Our districts monitor the situation closely and deal with any problems that arise on a case by case basis.

Administering these exams is a mammoth task. We thank our exam officials for the tremendous effort they put into making sure our exams run smoothly every year, and wish them and our school staff the very best for the coming weeks.

To the Class of 2022: you have worked hard to get to this point, and you are nearly over the finish line, so don’t give up now. Do your very best, not for your teachers or your parents or the province, but for yourself, because your future is in your hands.

We believe in you, and we look forward to celebrating your success in January!

Media Enquiries:
Kerry Mauchline
Spokesperson to Minister David Maynier
Western Cape Ministry of Education
Kerry.Mauchline@westerncape.gov.za