He says Eskom is aware that final matric exams are taking place.

eNCA reports the country has been grappling with blackouts with Eskom announcing on Wednesday that the country was entering Stage 4 power cuts.

"It looks like everything went well today," he said on Wednesday.

"We generally don't depend or need electricity to administer examinations, especially for papers like English. We just need question papers arriving on time and the candidates arriving on time and we are able to use sunlight and continue with the writing," he said.

Mhlanga said the main concern for the department would be disruptions to traffic and transport times.

Meanwhile,  The Citizen's Vhahangwele Nemakonde reports Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan says Eskom was a prime target of state capture and corruption, which has contributed to the challenges it is now facing.

Gordhan said this during a media briefing with Eskom CEO, André de Ruyter, on the challenges faced by the power utility on Wednesday evening.

Gordhan assured South Africans that the power utility was taking steps to deal with the load-shedding crisis and said that in addition to maintenance issues, state capture also played a huge role in what is happening at the power utility.

As a result, Eskom will ensure more senior managers are on the ground to instill urgency and vigilance at power station level to avoid “external interference”, said Gordhan, referring to those involved in corruption and state capture.

“State capture had massive implications for Eskom’s repair work,” said Gordhan.

He said the power utility was a “prime target” of state capture, assuring South Africans that everything was being done to rectify the problem.

In the next 24 hours, the necessary exemptions will also be made by National Treasury for Eskom to find the expertise to bring in the needed skills to assist with the power challenges.

eNCA/The Citizen