Staff Reporter
The 2020 Grade 12 mid-year and final examinations will be written concurrently from November 5 to December 15 with the results expected in February next year, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has announced.
In a statement, the DBE said the reconfiguration of the exam calendar follows severe disruptions caused by the lengthy closure of schools since mid-March due to the COVID-19-enforced lockdown.
“Following the closure of schools on 18 March 2020, and the national lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, a decision was taken by the Minister of Basic Education to administer the May/June 2020 examination concurrently with the October/November 2020 examination,” read part of the statement.
It said the late commencement of the examinations is expected to allow schools and learners adequate time to cover the curriculum and also to ensure that ample time is allocated for revision of the syllabus.
This means all candidates scheduled to write the National Senior Certificate examination in May/June 2020 and have already registered will be allowed to write their exams between November and December.
Candidates registered for the October/November 2020 National Senior Certificate examination will also write during the last two months of the year.
The DBE said more than 1.1 million candidates are expected to sit for the 2020 combined matric exam and every registered candidate will receive an admission letter by the end of September, listing the subjects for which they have registered and the examination centre where they will write.
“Registration for this examination has closed and, unfortunately, no late registrations will be entertained,” the department said.
The results of the 2020 Grade 12 examination will be released to candidates on February 23, 2021.
“Candidates need to be assured that the late release of the results will not jeopardise their admission to higher education institutions,” the department said.
As part of the adjustments, candidates who were originally scheduled to write the 2020 October/November examination will write two papers each in Business Studies and Accounting, whereas those who would have written the 2020 May/June examination will write one paper each in Business Studies and Accounting.
The Life Orientation Common Assessment Task will be written on Monday, 19 October 2020.
The practical examinations in Computer Applications Technology and Information Technology will be written prior to the official commencement of the examination on Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 October, 2020, respectively.
More details are contained in the timetable below:
