The Department of Basic Education is also urging South Africans to rally behind them.

More than a million pupils are expected to sit for the examinations on Thursday.

The President says this year’s exams will be written under unprecedented conditions.

South Africa, like many other countries, is still battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country went into a nationwide lockdown in March, to contain the spread of the virus.

The June Senior Certificate exams were postponed and will now be written together with the National Senior Certificate.

This makes this combined examination the largest public exam ever administered in South Africa. 

eNCA