The General Education Certificate (GEC) Assessment Model as approved by the Council of Education Ministers (CEM) has been concluded, with the DBE, PEDs and stakeholders converging at Birchwood Conference Centre, Johannesburg to present the pilot study findings at a Strategic Planning and Advocacy Workshop from 29 – 30 August 2024. The objective of the Workshop was to orientate senior managers and key stakeholders on the Assessment Model to be implemented from 2025.

The GEC is an education pathway that recognises the holistic skills-set for learners by setting appropriate curriculum standards to be achieved at the end of Grade 9. The GEC enables learners to access further education streams linked to the Three Stream Model, critical to ensure integration and facilitation of assessment using 21^st Century skills such as critical thinking, creative thinking, collaboration, communication and meta-cognition.

At the end of Grade 9, learners will be awarded with a report card and a certificate that reflects the skills, talents and competencies that will assist with their transition from school to work, or further education. The principles of GEC are to promote an inclusive model that will provide training in line with the continuing demand of new skills using a different approach that assesses learners’ skills and capabilities holistically. The certificate is offered to address the historical lack of learning opportunities for disadvantaged and marginalised learners and to mitigate the high dropout rate at Grade 9, whilst addressing the high levels of youth unemployment post-schooling.

“The GEC is not about duplicating the complex Grade 12 machinery relating to setting of question papers, moderation, examination administration and issuing of certificates; it is about creating an assessment model that is fit for purpose that will impact on effective teaching and learning. There will be limited value-add if we adopt the high-stakes Grade 12 approach. The main objective of the GEC is to issue a National Report Card that will be generated off a national assessment system at school level”, emphasised Dr Rufus Poliah, Chief Director, National Assessment and Public Examinations.

Senior DBE and PED officials engaged with stakeholders, including the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), the National Association of School Governing Bodies (NASGB) and UMALUSI to evaluate the findings of the pilot study and share ideas on how to implement the GEC in mainstream schools, technical schools and schools of skills and specialisation. Participants shared information on the Integrated Project and 21^st Century Skills, learner inclinations, curriculum tests, the GEC Dashboard and macro-level reporting, report card and learner reporting. Amongst the recommendations of the study is the provision of user-friendly tools for training and an easy step-by-step guideline for implementation and support to be provided for the capturing of information on SA-SAMS.