Umalusi exposes a troubling practice ahead of matric exams
PRETORIA — South African schools have been warned that they cannot prevent struggling pupils from writing their final matric examinations simply to protect their pass rates, as more than one million candidates prepare for the 2026 National Senior Certificate examinations.
Education quality assurance body Umalusi raised concerns on Thursday about schools allegedly excluding weaker learners from examinations to improve their overall results.
Umalusi CEO Mafu Rakometsi said the practice was unlawful and created a misleading picture of school performance.
“It does not show the full capacity of the school when you remove the weak pupils from writing, and you allow only the good ones to write,” Rakometsi said.
He warned that ranking schools and education districts according to examination results could encourage unhealthy competition, with some principals choosing to exclude pupils they believe are unlikely to pass.
The warning comes just days before the final examinations begin on Tuesday, 13 October.
Approximately 1.08 million candidates are expected to write at more than 9,000 examination centres nationwide. The final paper is scheduled for 26 November.
Umalusi confirmed that the examination system was ready following a national assessment of preparations.
Although the council identified areas requiring attention, Rakometsi said these were not widespread problems that threatened the credibility of the examinations.
Assessment bodies have been instructed to address outstanding concerns before the first papers are written, with Umalusi monitoring their progress.
The warning about excluding weaker candidates is particularly significant because matric pass rates are widely used to assess school performance.
Removing struggling learners from examinations can artificially improve a school’s results while denying those pupils the opportunity to complete their schooling.
Umalusi has therefore urged principals and district officials to ensure that registered candidates are allowed to write their examinations regardless of their expected performance.
With the examinations beginning next week, the council’s message is that schools must demonstrate their actual academic performance rather than improve their results by excluding learners who need the most support.
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