“We wish all learners who will be sitting for the examinations as from tomorrow [Monday] the very best and call on them to stay focused and not to be distracted from the task at hand. The sacrifices and extra effort they have had to put [in] to prepare for the exams must be jealously guarded so that they achieve their objective,” Sanco national spokesperson, Jabu Mahlangu, said.

The investment the country had made in the education of young people as future leaders was key to sustainable development, he said.

“Community protests must be temporarily suspended or alternatively their planning must take into account that disruption of schooling and the transport system will adversely affect learners who are on the verge of achieving a qualification that will open opportunities for them.”

Sanco expected the success of the focus on quality improvement and extra efforts put through the last push revision campaign to reflect not only in the results but also in the skills and competencies of the pupils who would be exiting the school system.

“It is important for them therefore that the higher education crisis which will have dire consequences on the prospects of millions of learners in the schooling system is speedily resolved,” Mahlangu said.

He appealed to authorities to ensure that checks and balances in the administration of the exams were in place to ensure that there were no glitches and hiccups and that required measures were in place to safeguard the integrity of the examination process.

ANA