Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane says the province’s 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations began smoothly, with all districts starting on time and no major disruptions reported.
A total of 16,968 candidates sat for the three-hour Computer Applications Technology (CAT) Paper 1 practical examination on Tuesday.
Chiloane noted that only four examination centres experienced minor technical or power-related issues, all of which were swiftly resolved to ensure no learner was disadvantaged.
At Letsibogo Maths, Science and ICT School of Specialisation in Meadowlands, Soweto, a power outage that began Monday afternoon was mitigated with a generator. Similarly, PJ Simelane Secondary School in Soweto implemented a backup plan to continue the exams without disruption.
In Bramley, Liberty Community School faced a brief delay due to power issues but quickly switched to solar backup, allowing candidates to complete their practicals. Meanwhile, at Falcon Educational Centre in Dawn Park, 21 learners were safely transported to a neighbouring school after a technical server glitch was detected before the exam started.
Chiloane also noted minor absenteeism among full-time and part-time candidates, describing the numbers as insignificant and saying they did not affect the day’s success.
“We are encouraged by the level of preparedness and commitment across our examination centres,” Chiloane said.
“Our teams acted swiftly where challenges arose, ensuring that every learner could write under fair and conducive conditions. These minor incidents did not compromise the integrity of the examination.”
The MEC added that the department will continue monitoring all centres across Gauteng to ensure a smooth rollout throughout the exam period.
