ISASA would like to clear up the confusion that exists in the public and the media around examination “irregularities” and “problems” at private examination centres.

Private exam centres are not independent (private) schools. In line with government regulations, every school that offers the matric exam must register as an exam centre.

ISASA schools that offer matric are not only registered with provincial education departments as independent schools, but they are also registered as exam centres.

There is, however, a policy loophole that allows examination centres that are not attached to any school to be registered. The majority of these examination centres are privately owned and as a result, they are incorrectly regarded as independent schools.

It is only the state that registers private examination centres for the National Senior Certificate, as schools that write the Independent Examinations Board exams all provide full-time tuition for their examination candidates.

Unfortunately, most of these private examination centres produce very poor results and it is mostly at these centres that examination irregularities usually take place. This has the net effect of reducing the average results of independent schools in a province and resulting in allegations of poor performance of the sector.

This loophole also creates a fertile breeding ground for fly-by-night independent schools. They operate below the radar and use registered examination centres to enrol their candidates for the Matric examination. None of the fly-by-night independent schools belong to an independent school association because they would not meet membership conditions. Furthermore, they have no intention to become members of independent school associations because they want to escape official notice and scrutiny.

Currently, there are no uniform national regulations for registering independent schools. Each province promulgates its own regulations. The regulations for registering examination centres, including private ones, on the other hand, are national.

ISASA recommends that such loopholes for unscrupulous operators must be closed by, first of all, developing National Guidelines for Registration and Withdrawal of Registration of Independent Schools and aligning these with the provincial Conditions for Registration and Withdrawal of Registration of Independent Schools, and Regulations for the Registration of Private Examination Centres.

STATEMENT BY SANDILE NDABA, DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA (ISASA)