{"id":497435,"date":"2021-06-10T08:53:35","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T06:53:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=497435"},"modified":"2021-06-10T08:53:35","modified_gmt":"2021-06-10T06:53:35","slug":"all-the-details-for-south-africas-new-school-certificate-what-you-should-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/497435\/all-the-details-for-south-africas-new-school-certificate-what-you-should-know\/","title":{"rendered":"All the details for South Africa’s new school certificate \u2013 what you should know"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Department of Basic Education has called for comments on the introduction of the General Education Certificate (GEC) for Grade 9 pupils.<\/p>\n

The GEC is the qualification at level 1 on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) that is intended to formally recognise achievements of learners at the end of the compulsory phase of schooling (GET).<\/p>\n

Its primary purpose is to facilitate subject choices beyond Grade 9 and articulation between schools and TVET colleges.<\/p>\n

While the department has reiterated that this is\u00a0not an exit point<\/strong>\u00a0for learners from the school system, Grade 9 is seen as a point where pupils may shift focus to more technical subjects and trades instead of a singular focus on a college or university education.<\/p>\n

The qualification has a minimum of 120 credits, with a minimum of nine subjects required for successful completion. The weighting of the nine subjects varies, with three subjects on 20 credits each and six subjects on 10 credits each.<\/p>\n

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“The aim is to build a schooling system that recognises the knowledge, skills, values and competencies gained from ten compulsory years of formal schooling at the end of Grade 9 and to provide access into further education and training learning programmes,” the department said.<\/p>\n

“The GEC aims to provide a well-balanced, general education which will benefit learners at the end of compulsory schooling or, alternatively define a learner profile for learners accessing further education and training, and other alternative institutions.”<\/p>\n

Entrance and subjects<\/strong><\/p>\n

Access to the GEC qualification is open to all learners at a public or independent school – or other modes of education, such as home education – who have met the minimum requirements for promotion and progression to Grade 9.<\/p>\n

However, a learner must be in possession of an official Grade 8 report which indicates that they met the requirements for promotion or were progressed to Grade 9.<\/p>\n

The GEC is a one-year qualification, and learners must take all subjects in one examination sitting and complete the programme requirements for the grade. All of the subjects will also be considered through a school-based assessment.<\/p>\n

The choice of subjects will typically be informed by the subjects that were chosen by the student in Grade 8.<\/p>\n

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Options after getting your GEC\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The achievement of the General Education Certificate (GEC) is designed to enable learners to access three learning pathways, the department said.<\/p>\n

These include:<\/p>\n