Sne Masuku

Sne Masuku

The KwaZulu-Natal department of education has responded to the call by a students' body to extend the registration deadline for supplementary exams for last year's unsuccessful matric candidates.

This follows calls by the Congress of South African Students (Cosas) in the province that most matric pupils wanting to improve their results were not given enough time to register.

Provincial spokesman Ntokozo Maphisa said yesterday that the department had extended the registration deadline until February 16.

The programme to assist last year's unsuccessful matriculants to improve on all the subjects they failed would run as from this Saturday and during the Easter school holidays.

The registration deadline was initially on January 25.

The national Department of Education has for the first time provided this opportunity for unsuccessful matric pupils to attend special classes.

Pupils who did not do well in the previous years are also not left out - they can also rewrite the subjects they failed free of charge, but they would not be allowed to be part of the special classes.

Registration is open at government high schools and local community halls and centres.

Matriculants wishing to rewrite but were studying at private schools last year are illegible to take part in the free classes.

Cosas provincial spokesman Isaac Luthuli said details on how and where pupils could register were not properly communicated to the learners.

"We believe that the registration period was also very short considering the fact that we had received reports that there were school principals who had not released the results of learners who were owing school fees.

"The department has agreed to extend the registration period up until Saturday," said Luthuli.