Katlego Sekhu

The City Press recently reported that at least eight of the nine provinces in South Africa are using a private company to print their matriculation examination papers. According to the report, this has raised printing costs from less than R1 billion to over R3.6 billion.
In response, the Department of Basic Education issued a statement to clarify the information in the City Press article published on Sunday, 10 November 2024.
The statement explains that the total cost to the government to administer the October/November National Senior Certificate examinations, including all processes beyond printing, ranges between R3,800 and R4,000 per candidate taking seven subjects. In 2024, there are 727,121 full-time candidates, which brings the total cost to approximately R2.9 billion. Additionally, there are 155,215 part-time candidates taking one or more subjects, which, when factored in, increases the total to around R3.6 billion.
The Department emphasised that this figure represents the entire cost of administering the examinations for both full-time and part-time candidates. The printing of question papers is only one part of the overall expense in the examination process.
Read the full statement below.
[MEDIA RELEASE] The Department sets the record straight on printing of question papers pic.twitter.com/1BHURTw1cA
— Dep. Basic Education (@DBE_SA) November 12, 2024
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