KwaZulu-Natal Education Department declares 2025 NSC exams successful
Siphosihle Hlomuka, KwaZulu-Natal MEC of Education at a media briefing on Thursday
Image: Supplied
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education has heralded the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations as a remarkable success, with a smooth and incident-free completion.
More than 195,000 Grade 12 learners across the province wrote their final tests on Thursday, marking the end of their examination journey, which spanned more than a month.
This year saw 195,592 candidates registered for the NSC examinations, comprising 180,454 full-time students and 15,047 part-time learners.
As part of the marking process, 7,889 markers will commence their duties on Tuesday, December 2 across 32 designated marking centres, with the marking expected to finish on December 12.
Umalusi will oversee moderation and quality assurance processes, with the final results scheduled for release in January 2026.
Siphosihle Hlomuka, MEC for Education on Thursday, during a media briefing and oversight visit to monitor the marking centre at Umlazi Comprehensive Technical High School, confirmed that no major irregularities were reported.
"Our monitoring teams were deployed across districts from the early hours of the morning to assess preparedness, and their reports confirm that invigilators were present, trained, and correctly allocated.
"Question papers arrived securely and on time. Learners were seated and writing by the stipulated starting times. No major incidents were recorded that could compromise the integrity of the exams," said Hlomuka.
He said any involvement in cheating or possession of unauthorised materials have been dealt with firmly in line with national examination regulations.
Hlomuka highlighted certain incidents of concern, which included a learner who was involved in a car accident in the Umlazi district and was unable to continue with the rest of the exams.
Another incident was when a matric candidate assaulted a fellow candidate and study partner with boiling water, resulting in the victim being unable to continue with her exam.
At Mpolweni Secondary School arsonists set classrooms on fire. However exams were not disrupted.
Hlomuka congratulated the class of 2025 for reaching this far, adding that they need to stay focused and use the time to reflect.