Exams start . sort of ,.....

As schools struggle with backlog, some postpone their preliminary exams 

 

The provincial education officials had to intervene after members of the Congress of SA Students interrupted exams at schools in Moletsane and Simunye.
Officials met these Cosas pupils to "clarify the importance of pupils writing the preliminary exams", said departmental spokesman Charles Phahlane.
The schools affected by the backlog had to cover the work in 40 days. The department is targeting 276 underperforming schools in catch-up programmes.
There was also confusion about the preliminary exams - which count for 25% of the final matric mark - as some believed that they were yet again postponed.
This was after a science test, supposed to have been written yesterday, was postponed to next Tuesday. Pupils in the province will write accounting and English tests today.
Preliminary exams were off to a shaky start in other provinces, but some reported smooth sailing.
The Northern Cape education department has abandoned preliminary exams for matrics completely.
"We simply couldn't allow pupils to write under the circumstances," said spokesman Ohentse Stander.
"There is too little time, but schools will still set papers for the core subjects - life sciences, maths, physics and economics."
Pupils will attend extra classes at the weekend, and school hours will be extended to help catch up on time lost.
Pupils in Mpumalanga wrote their English test yesterday.
Department spokesman Jasper Zwane said: "It is important for our pupils to write these exams so as to adequately prepare them for the final exams."
Zwane said recovery plans for the province - last year's worst performer - were going well.
Their Dial-a-Tutor initiative, set up during the World Cup, had gained momentum.
"Pupils now have free access to the line from their cellphones as opposed to just from landlines like before," said Zwane.
"They call the number from their phones, and it registers as a missed call. A subject adviser from Dial-a-Tutor calls them right back."
They had fielded 1671 calls since last week.
Western Cape spokesman Bronagh Casey said most of the province's schools had completed their preliminary exams, but the 61 schools affected by the strike were still "busy with them".
Catch-up plans in the province would mainly target these 61 schools.
The Free State and North West provinces started exams last Thursday, and have reported no irregularities