Pretoria - As the National Senior Certificate [matric] examinations kick off on Monday across South Africa, the governing African National Congress (ANC) sent out well wishes to the Class of 2018, and also appealed for families to support the learners.
"This assessment is a culmination of many years of hard work and dedication by the learners, educators and administrators alike and we wish them the best of luck during this important time," said ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe.
"The 2018 National Senior Certificate examination is another large examination comprising a total of 796,542 candidates, writing the examination across 6,888 examination centres throughout the country."
The governing party also commended the Department of Basic Education which will, for the first time, administer an examination in South African Sign Language at Home Language level to 58 deaf candidates across 10 schools.
"We call on the department to leave no stone unturned in ensuring a credible and integrous NSC examination. Our nation's expectations on the Class of 2018 remain high as the learners seek to emulate and even surpass the achievements their predecessors," said Mabe.
"The ANC calls upon families and communities at large to offer unwavering support our matriculants by creating a conducive environment for them to study and thrive in their quest for academic excellence during this time."
The ANC said that support should further extend to the period following the announcement of the results of the critical examinations.
Last week, the department of correctional services said it was "more than ready" for the writing of the 2018 NSC examinations by registered offenders.
"It’s all systems go for matric exams in correctional centres, where a total of 189 inmates will sit for the National Senior Certificate. The DCS is more than satisfied with the level of preparations and has given necessary support to thirteen DCS schools," said spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo.
"Working together with the department of basic education and other partners, DCS was able to offer extra support classes and made available additional resource material to complement the lessons being presented."
Kutama Sinthumule Correctional School has the biggest number of matriculants, registering 30, followed by Durban Westville at 23 and according to DCS, the two schools achieved 100 per cent respectively in the 2017 academic year.