The Northern Cape Department of Education on Thursday officially opened three marking centres in Kimberley.

According to the provincial department, the province has reached the final stage of the 2022 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations.

This is after the department successfully administered this year’s examinations, free of any irregularities.

The writing of the NSC exams is set to conclude this week, with rewrite opportunities arising from disruptions in some parts of the country.

The exams will conclude on 8 December 2022, with Economics Paper 1 written in Gauteng only by 53 learners from Phandimfundo Secondary School.

The Northern Cape MEC for Education, Zolile Monakali, accompanied by the Director-General of Basic Education, Hubert Mweli, and the Head of the Department, Moira Marais, opened the centres.

According to the department, marking is considered one stage in an integrated, collaborative process of teaching and learning, requiring awareness of the teacher’s dual role as a coach and assessor.

Monakali told the markers that a greater responsibility lies on them to carefully, with precision and a high level of accuracy, mark all scripts to ensure that the outcome is a true reflection of the candidates’ academic achievement.

“We rely on your experience and expertise to fast-track and identify mistakes during the marking process. The marks you award must be fair and should not favour or prejudice any learner,” he said.

Mweli thanked the provincial department for the exceptional work conducted by the officials to administer the NSC examinations free of any irregularities.

He also conveyed a special word of appreciation to all the markers for sacrificing their time to perform the national duty of marking.

Mweli further reminded all officials that the COVID-19 pandemic is still among us and the responsibility is upon all to adhere to the preventative measures.

The provincial department has written 88 different question papers, which translates to 197 843 answer scripts that needed to be marked by 766 markers. Of these markers, 164 are senior markers, 21 deputy chief markers, 82 chief markers and 82 internal moderators.

In addition, the department said the administrative duties will also be dealt with by 150 examination assistants at the examination marking centres in Kimberley.

Source: South African Government News Agency