Umalusi
By Thobeka Makume
Umalusi, the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training, has urged learners and parents with concerns about the 2024 National Senior Certificate (NSC) results to direct their queries to the South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute (SACAI). The advisory comes amidst a surge in inquiries regarding discrepancies in assessment outcomes and procedural issues.
SACAI, a private assessment body accredited by Umalusi, administers its own policies for handling complaints and queries. These include requests for viewing, re-marking, or re-checking examination scripts, re-writing examinations, and addressing any other concerns related to the NSC exam.
Handling Queries: Umalusi’s Role and SACAI’s Responsibility
Umalusi emphasised that its role in the quality assurance of examinations involves oversight of processes to ensure high standards, but SACAI remains the first point of contact for resolving specific queries related to its assessments.
“Following the approval for the release of results, Umalusi has been receiving a number of queries from learners and parents regarding the assessment outcomes of the 2024 SACAI NSC examinations,” the council said in a statement on Monday, 27 January 2025.
The concerns mainly stem from differences between learners’ final marks and their year-long performance. Umalusi reiterated that the approval decision to release results was made after rigorous quality assurance processes conducted throughout the assessment cycle.
Comprehensive Quality Assurance Measures
To maintain credibility and consistency, Umalusi outlined the extensive quality assurance measures applied to SACAI’s 2024 NSC examinations, including:
1. Moderation of Question Papers and School-Based Assessments (SBA): External moderators reviewed question papers and SBAs to ensure that they adhered to high standards.
2. Audit of Examination Systems: Umalusi audited SACAI’s systems for conducting, administering, and managing the exams to confirm operational readiness.
3. Monitoring of Examination Centres: Umalusi monitored the writing process across sampled centres to ensure integrity during the exams.
4. Standardisation of Marking Guidelines: Standardisation meetings ensured accurate and reliable marking processes across all subjects.
5. Verification of Marking Quality: Marking in sampled subjects underwent rigorous verification to maintain consistency and accuracy.
6. Standardisation of Examination Marks: This process ensured comparability and consistency in learner performance across multiple years.
These processes were applied across all 24 subjects examined by SACAI, affirming the credibility of the results.
Guidance for Learners and Parents
Umalusi has directed learners and parents seeking clarity on NSC results to consult SACAI’s policies and engage its built-in mechanisms for addressing complaints. The council also encouraged individuals to refer to its official website for detailed explanations of its quality assurance processes, particularly the standardisation of SBA and external examination marks.
A presentation explaining the standardisation process is available on Umalusi’s website: Standardisation of Results Explained.
Making Informed Decisions on Assessment Bodies
Umalusi reminded the public that the NSC is assessed by three separate bodies—the SACAI, the Independent Examinations Board (IEB), and the Department of Basic Education (DBE). The council urged learners and parents to carefully consider which assessment body they choose to register with, based on their accreditation status, service offerings, and overall suitability.
SACAI was granted full accreditation by Umalusi on 1 October 2022 to assess both the General Education and Training Certificate: Adult Basic Education and Training (GETC: ABET) and the NSC examinations.
“The rationale behind accreditation of private education and training institutions and private assessment bodies is to ensure that they have the capacity to deliver and assess qualifications registered on the GFETQSF and are doing so to the expected standards and quality,” Umalusi stated.
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