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Director-General’s visits to Marking Centres

One of the key processes in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) Examination is the organisation and marking of candidates’ scripts after the writing of the examination. Marking reliability is essential to ensure that markers’ application of the nationally agreed marking guidelines is accurate, consistent and fair to all candidates in a high stakes public examination such as the NSC.

The outcomes of this examination are used by candidates to gain entry to higher learning or to access other training or employment opportunities. The NSC outcomes are also used as indicators of teachers’ and schools’ performance at provincial and national levels, as well as to monitor examination standards over time.

Given the high importance of marking the learners’ scripts, the Director-General, Mr Hubert Mathanzima Mweli, began his monitoring of Marking Centres throughout the country. The main purpose of the visits are to affirm the hard work of the officials and teachers at marking centres and to learn from his engagement with the relevant officials and teachers who are involved in the marking process to strengthen future marking processes.

Visits to Marking Centres

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Eastern Cape
Free State
Gauteng
KwaZulu-Natal
Limpopo
Mpumalanga
North West
Northern Cape
Western Cape

The Eastern Cape province has allocated 19 marking centres for the marking of the 2017 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination scripts. A team of senior markers and newly appointed markers drawn from various schools in the province have dedicated their efforts and energy to ensure that quality marking processes are being implemented this year. On 01 December 2017, the Director-General for the Department of Basic Education, Mr Hubert Mathanzima Mweli visited six marking centres in the Eastern Cape namely, Collegiate Girls High and Khanyisa High School in Port Elizabeth, Kirkwood Hoerskool, Daniel Piennar Hoerskool and Sterelitzia High School in Uitenhage, and Paul Sauer High School in Humansdorp.

In most centres, markers commenced with their duties after having been engaged in memo discussions, training workshops and group marking in preparation for the actual marking of learners’ scripts. Read more...

Marking of examination scripts for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) Examination has been running smoothly in the Free State Province. The markers reported for duty on 03 December 2017 and will continue until 14 December 2017. The Basic Education Director-General, Mr Hubert Mathanzima Mweli, visited the province on 06 December 2017, to have interactive sessions with various education stakeholders comprising chief markers, internal moderators and centre managers and other key role players who continue to make a valuable contribution towards maintaining quality marking processes.

The centres that were visited included Brebner High School in Bloemfontein, HTS Louis Botha in Bloemfontein, Welkom Gymnasium High School, Brentpark High School, Sarel Celliers Combined School, Parys Hoerskool, Bultfontein Hoerskool, and Eunice Girls High.Read more...

The Gauteng Province has marking centres which accommodate approximately 800 markers in each centre. As in all provinces, the marking personnel is encouraged to strengthen security measures in a bid to prevent irregularities so that the standard of the NSC Examination processes is upheld at all times. On 25 November 2017, the Basic Education Director-General (DG), Mr Hubert Mathanzima Mweli visited six marking centres in and around Krugersdorp, Roodepoort and Kempton Park to monitor and acknowledge the quality of work done by the marking personnel. These centres included Krugersdorp High School, Hoerskool Roodepoort, Queens High School, Allen Glen High School, Roosevelt High School and Rand Girls High School. Read more...

On 08 December 2017, the Director-General for the Department of Basic Education, Mr Hubert Mathanzima Mweli, accompanied by the Head of Education for the KwaZulu-Natal Province, Dr Enoch Nzama continued with his marking centre monitoring programme in Pietermaritzburg and Durban where he met with internal moderators, chief markers, and centre managers. The main objective of these visits was to keep track of marking processes and further encourage the markers to keep up the good work. Mr Mweli’s main intention for these visits is to get provinces to work towards uniformity and efficiency across the education sector in the marking process.

More than 2,8 million scripts were expected to be marked in all 29 centres allocated for effective administration and marking processes in the KwaZulu-Natal Province. This province remains one of the largest province in the country with high enrolment of learners especially in Mathematics. In 2017, approximately 10 000 markers were appointed to assist government in achieving quality marking processes. Read more...

As an integral part of monitoring the processes involved in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) Examinations, visits to Marking Centres are being prioritised at this time of the year. On 21 November 2017, the Basic Education Director-General, Mr Hubert Mathanzima Mweli, accompanied by the Deputy Director-General for Curriculum Management and Delivery, Dr Komane Mphahlele at the Limpopo Department of Education undertook a visit to the marking centres in Vhembe and Capricorn Districts. The main purpose of the visit is to monitor and support the personnel in preparation for the NSC Examination Standardisation process scheduled for 22 December 2017.

In the Makhado Centre in Vhembe District and the Mastec Marking Centre in Capricon District in Seshego, more than 247 and 148 marking personnel were involved in marking respectively. Read more...

“The implementation of effective selection criteria of best markers has over the years enabled Mpumalanga province to achieve quality marking processes,” said Mr Manyabeane Chukudu. The provincial senior officials such as district directors, education specialists, subject advisors, internal moderators, and chief markers have been hard at work to ensure that markers were empowered and well supported to perform their task better. On 09 December 2017, Basic Education Director-General, spent the entire day in the province engaging marking personnel in several centres. Markers as part of National Senior Certificate examination (NSC) team play an integral role in ensuring that proper processes and procedures have been followed to keep the NSC standard at a high level. On 01 December 2017, markers attended a training workshop through which they were guided on the right procedures, norms and standards to be implemented during marking.

In most centres, marking processes commenced on 01 December 2017 and carried on until 14 December 2017. In some instances, marking activities were done concurrently with marksheets capturing. Read more...

The marking of the 2017 National Senior certificate is in full swing across the country. In addition to the 140 marking centres located in the 9 Provinces, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has established a National marking centre for the centralised marking of selected small enrolment subjects. Centralised marking of small subjects was piloted in 2015 in two subjects and since then the number of subjects centrally marked have increased. This year the DBE will centrally mark 15 small enrolment subjects comprising 4 Non language subjects namely: Music, Dance, Agricultural Technology and Agricultural Management Practice and 5 first additional languages and 6 second additional languages.

Basic Education Director-General, Mr Mathanzima Mweli, visited the centralised marking centre located at Waterkloof high School in Pretoria on 07 December 2017, to observe and monitor the quality of the marking processes. The Director-General also took the opportunity to address a team of markers including chief markers, internal moderators and examination assistants and encouraged them to keep maintaining the standard of NSC Examination processes.Read more...

The Northern Cape Province has established three marking centres in Kimberly to run this year’s marking processes. Approximately 900 markers were appointed to mark 139 000 scripts this year and are expected to conclude marking processes on 14 December 2017. Markers continue to play a significant role in the education sector because they enable the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to achieve quality results. Various education stakeholders are currently working very hard to monitor the entire marking activities whilst ensuring that markers receive full support.

Basic Education Director-General, Mr Hubert Mathanzima Mweli, who had already visited 65 centres across all nine provinces, paid a courtesy visit to Kimberly, Northern Cape Province to monitor the standard of marking in the province. Read more...

The bulk of the marking consignments has been accomplished in the Western Cape Province since marking processes commenced on 01 December 2017. The province has established more than four marking centres in and around Cape Town to manage marking processes this year. Provincial officials together with marking personnel have been working hand in hand to administer processes around capturing marks to prepare for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) standardisation.

The Director-General for the Department of Basic Education (DBE), Mr Hubert Mathanzima Mweli, officially concluded his marking centre monitoring programme in the Western Cape Province on 12 December 2017 where he met with the Western Cape Head of Department (HOD) for Education. The marking centre monitoring programme is one of the most fundamental programmes conducted by the Director-General within the education sector to strengthen a good working relationship between the DBE and Provincial Education Departments (PEDs), particularly on activities around the National Senior Certificate examinations. Mr Mweli utilised this visit to encourage provincial officials and marking personnel to follow the guidelines of the NSC examination whilst marking learners’ scripts. All provinces are expected to complete marking processes on 15 December 2017. Read more...