Umamah Bakharia | ub@radioislam.co.za

2 min read
25 October 2022 | 10:40 am CAT

The Basic Education Department says it has received word from Eskom officials that examination centres will not be exempted from rolling blackouts because they are not situated in one central place.

On Tuesday, the Matric class of 2022 began their final examinations, with hundreds writing their practical subjects.

The department’s spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga says even though learners are facing the challenge of load-shedding, they are confident that this year’s exams will go through as planned.

He added that the departments had been in talks with Eskom; however, it was unsuccessful.

“We tried to put the case across but we were told that it would not be possible because the centres are all over the place. They are not located in one place where you could exempt them from power cuts.”

According to the department, there are currently 923 460 learners (both full-time and part-time) enrolled for the National Senior Certificate exams.

Meanwhile, Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane continues urging Eskom and Joburg City Power to minimise electricity outages during the final year exams.

“If we see that there are high schools that will be affected by load shedding during the period where they are writing exams, we have already set up a process where we will move those learners to centers where they will be able to write their exam.”