The 2026 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations have got off to a positive start, with the Department of Basic Education reporting no adverse incidents on the first day.
“All progressed well today. We have not had any adverse reports to this point,” said Department of Basic Education spokesperson Terence Khala, providing an update on the commencement of the matric examinations.
Khala’s update follows Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube’s declaration that the Class of 2026 is ready for the examinations, which run from October 13 to November 26.
In a media briefing ahead of the examinations, Gwarube highlighted the extensive preparations undertaken by the department, including learner support programmes, the finalisation and quality assurance of examination papers, and strengthened security measures to protect the integrity of the examination process.
A total of 962,832 candidates have registered for the 2026 NSC examinations, comprising 815,051 full-time candidates and 147,781 part-time candidates, making this the largest full-time matric cohort to date.
The first session on Tuesday started with Computer Applications Technology (CAT) Paper 1 practical examination. The second session included Paper 1 examinations for Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu Home Language (HL), First Additional Language (FAL) and Second Additional Language (SAL), as well as Hebrew SAL and German HL, FAL and SAL.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
IOL News