Pretoria - The leadership of Gauteng Province has given the 2022 National Senior Certificate (NSC) matric examinations the green light, with no challenges on the horizon.
Education Minister Angie Motshekga alongside Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Education MEC Matome Chiloane descended upon Nellmapius Secondary School in Pretoria earlier today to monitor the official start of the NSC examinations in the province.
The Gauteng province has once again registered an increased number of students taking the NSC exams from 132 869 in 2021 to 138 877 in this year's sitting.
The number of part-time enrolments had also reportedly increased from 42 884 in the previous year to 55 734 in 2022.
Matric pupils at Nellmapius Secondary School were excited to start with their first paper but nervous because of the matric pressure. @EducationGP1 @DBE_SA #matric2022 pic.twitter.com/mgFwkPTaOg
Meanwhile, learners at the school said they were nervous and excited at the same time because all eyes were now on them.
Learner Paballo Motsehle, 19, said all he was thinking of was passing so he could start thinking and planning on what he would do for his future.
Motsehle said even though he had ample time to prepare as load shedding was not as frequent in his area, his biggest concern was writing the mathematics paper.
"Subjects like Life Sciences, and Geography are a walk in the park, while Physics and Mathematics are my biggest challenges but I will push hard to make my school and family proud."
Gontse Molomo said he had been ready for the examinations from the beginning of the year as most of the groundwork had been covered in the past two years.
Molomo said he was also encouraged by the fact that his family was 100% behind supporting him and even allocated a special place for him to study undisturbed.
Education Minister Angie Motshekga, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and MEC Matome Chiloane monitored the start of the 2022 NSC exams in Mamelodi. Some of the learners talk about their expectations. @CityTshwane @EducationGP1 #matric2022 pic.twitter.com/C4oMAlRsQz
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In wishing the learners good luck for the examinations Lesufi said he wanted to thank the learners for making it to the "finish lap" as many learners had been lost along the way through the years.
Lesufi said he was confident that the class of 2022 would represent the province well.
"The mere fact that you are here means you are at the doorstep of a better South Africa. You go in there and do to that paper what Kaizer Chiefs did to Orlando Pirates over the weekend," Lesufi joked with the learners.
"This examination will determine your future in everything that you are going to be applying for be it university entrance, bursary or even a job. This is the document that will open doors for you."
Minister Motshekga added that in all the years she had been the minister every time she spoke to the top performers they all told a similar tale of the amount of hard work they had put in.
She said the current cohort had faced the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic but that the department and teachers had given learners lots of support to make up for the challenges experienced.
The minister added that with the subjects requiring electricity, CAT and ICT, being behind them they foresee no challenges as examinations were written during the day and would use natural light.
"Load shedding disrupts everyone's life but we have found a way to work around that. The same must apply to them to plan ahead and work around the situation as best as possible."
Pretoria News