These candidates will conduct their examinations at 200 examination centres spread across the country.
Anne Oberholzer, CEO of the Independent Examinations Board (IEB), said the IEB has set examination papers in 66 NSC subjects, 14 of which are non-official languages.
The IEB also sets Advanced Programme examinations in three subjects, namely mathematics, English home language and Afrikaans home language.
“These papers are written by learners in IEB as well as state schools and these subjects are rated by UK NARIC (UK National Recognition Information Centre) as equal in demand to A-level courses,” said Oberholzer
“Because of the diverse abilities of learners in any education system, there is a need to provide an opportunity for talented learners to be challenged at the highest level.
“This is the reason for the IEB’s introduction of the Advanced Programme in mathematics and language (English and Afrikaans).
“More importantly, to ensure that all South African learners can participate, examinations in these stand-alone courses are available to learners in public as well as independent institutions of learning.
“Awards in these subjects have been benchmarked by UK NARIC as equivalent to A-levels.”
Oberholzer said while there have been some assessments during the year to date, the main NSC examinations will continue until Friday, November 28.
Marking is centralised and will start on December 6.
The IEB anticipates that results will be released to learners on December 31.
