ANNEXURE A

Western Cape Education Department

Directorate: Assessment Management

COMMITMENT AGREEMENT RELATING TO THE 2024

NATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION

LETTER TO CANDIDATES/PARENTS/GUARDIANS

_____________________________________
NAME OF CANDIDATE IDENTITY NUMBER

_____________________________________ __________________________________________
NAME OF SCHOOL DISTRICT

1. The National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination is administered and conducted in terms of
the Regulations pertaining to the conduct, administration and management of assessment
for the National Senior Certificate examination, published in Government Gazette No. 31337
of 29 August 2008, across all provinces in the country.

2. Any deviation from or contravention of the Regulations by a candidate registered to write

the 2024 NSC examination will compromise the integrity of the examination and the results
of the candidate could be declared null and void in line with the relevant provisions as set
out in the Regulations. It is therefore imperative that all candidates are familiar with the rules
and regulations and sign the attached acknowledgement form to this effect.
Parents/guardians are also required to acknowledge that they are aware of the rules and
regulations by co-signing the acknowledgement form.

3. Prior to the examination, the candidate and parent/guardian must note the following:
(a) Every candidate must be registered to write the 2024 NSC examination.
(b) The registration will be confirmed in an admission letter issued to the candidate
confirming the following:
(i) Full name and surname;
(ii) Examination number;
(iii) Name of the school;
(iv) Subjects and the number of papers to be written by the candidate; and
(v) Dates and times on which each paper will be written.
(c) Parents and guardians must check and ensure the following:
(i) Dates and times when each paper is written;
(ii) Arrival at the examination centre in good time (at least an hour and a half before
commencement time);

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 (iii) The candidate is at all times in possession of the admission letter and his/her
identity document (ID) and have all the necessary stationery for the paper; and
(iv) Candidates are expected to be attired in school uniform when writing the
examination.

4. Candidates must note the following:

(a) Candidates are bound in all matters relating to the examination to obey the instructions
of the invigilator and the chief invigilator.
(b) Candidates are expected to respond to the questions in the question paper, on their
own, without the assistance of their peers or educators. In cases where assistance is
offered by an educator/invigilator/learner, it is the responsibility of the candidate to
bring this to the attention of the chief invigilator. Failure to report such assistance will
result in the candidate being implicated in an examination irregularity.
(c) It is the responsibility of the candidate to report any information or rumour regarding
examination irregularities to the examination hotline established for this purpose. The
examination hotline will be a 24-hour service. In addition to reporting to the examination
hotline, the information must also be brought to the attention of the principal. Failure to
do so will be considered collusion for which the candidate will be held accountable.
(d) In cases where a question paper, or part(s) of a question paper is/are forwarded to a
candidate via email, SMS, WhatsApp or any other electronic means, and he/she fails
to report such an incident to the invigilator/chief invigilator, he/she will be regarded as
being complicit.
(e) All candidates will be required to complete the Grade 12 NSC Register for Electronic
Devices, which will be managed by the school. This register will require all candidates to
record all details of the cell phone or any other electronic device that they will be using
during the examination period: 21 October – 28 November 2024. If the cell phone or
any other device is changed during the examination period, it must be brought to the
attention of the principal. (The telephone number and related details of the cell phone
may be regarded as personal information as contemplated in section 1 of the
Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), 2013 (Act 4 of 2013). By signing this
agreement, the candidate provides his/her consent, in terms of section 11(c) of the
POPIA, that the personal information may be used for the purposes of writing and
administration of the NSC examination.

(f) Once in the examination room, the candidate must ensure the following:
(i) No notes or any other material that is not allowed in the examination room is in
his/her possession. Being found in possession of any notes or material in the
examination room is regarded as an irregularity.
(ii) No cellular phones, or any other electronic device must be brought into the
examination room. Any such device found in their possession, even though not used
during the examination, also constitutes an irregularity and an appropriate sanction
will be imposed.

(g) It is the responsibility of the candidate to check that they receive the paper and/or
subject for which they are registered.

(h) No examination answer book (or part of an answer book/answer sheet), whether used
or unused, may be removed from the examination room. Should this occur, it will be
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 considered an irregularity and the candidate will receive NO credit for the examination
in that question paper.

(i) Should a candidate write the wrong subject or wrong language level (in the case of a
language paper), this will be considered to be a technical irregularity and will lead to
the candidate’s results being blocked/cancelled/delayed.

(j) Candidates are strongly advised not to use different styles of handwriting in their answer
books, as this may be misconstrued by the marker as a response written by another
individual resulting in an investigation which may delay the release of the results.

(k) The conduct of the candidate before, during and after the writing of the question
paper is important. Disruptive and unruly behaviour will not be tolerated, and the
candidate could be barred from writing the examination.

(l) In the event of a candidate being implicated in an examination irregularity, the

parent/guardian and candidate must avail themselves for a hearing, as failure to do so
will lead to further delays in the results of the candidate being released.

5. The key types of irregularities that may occur during the examination are listed on
page 5.

6. In the event that a candidate is found to have contravened any of the rules and regulations
as specified above, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) reserves the right to nullify the
candidate’s results and they could be barred from writing one to three subsequent
examinations (as stipulated in the Regulations in Government Gazette No. 31337 of 29 August
2008). Criminal prosecution could be imposed should it be found that the candidate is
involved in the leakage of any examination question paper.

7. The candidate and the parent/guardian must be aware that should the candidate agree to
any assistance, irrespective of who provided the assistance (i.e. the educator/invigilator/
fellow learner), they shall be considered to have colluded with the person who provided the
assistance. Failure to report such assistance will result in the candidate being implicated in
an examination irregularity.

8. Parents/guardians and candidates must note that should it be discovered that the question
paper has leaked (i.e., parts of the question paper or the full question paper has been
accessed prior to the examination), the Director General in conjunction with Umalusi, will
make a decision whether the question paper/s needs/need to be rewritten.

9. A candidate who is alleged to have had access to the question paper or parts of it, prior to
the examination, will be required to submit his/her cell phone or any other electronic device
to the DBE for further investigation. The candidate hereby provides his/her consent that the
information on the cell phone may be utilised for the purpose of the investigation, in terms of
section 11(c) of the POPIA.

10. Disciplinary action will also be taken against officials who are involved in irregularities at their
examination centres.
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 DECLARATION BY PARENT/GUARDIAN

I, _______________________________________, parent/guardian of _______________________________,

(Full name of parent/guardian) (Full name of learner)

state that I have read and understood the rules and regulations pertaining to the conduct of the
NSC examination and the consequences should my child/ward contravene any of the regulations.

__________________________________ ______________________
(Signature) (Date)

DECLARATION BY LEARNER

I, __________________________________________, _________________________________________,
(Full name of learner) (Examination number)

state that I have read and understood the rules and regulations pertaining to the conduct of the
NSC examination and the consequences should I contravene any of the regulations.

__________________________________ ______________________
(Signature) (Date)

COMMISSIONED BY PRINCIPAL (Ex Officio)

I, _________________________________________, of _______________________________________________,
(Name of principal) (Name of school)

attest that the abovementioned declaration has been signed in my presence on:

______________________________ at ___________________________________________________________.
(Date) (Name of school)

_____________________________________
(Signature of principal)

School stamp:

This Commitment Agreement should be kept until all the examination irregularities have been resolved and
the subsequent appeal processes have been concluded. A copy should be handed over to the candidate,
while the original is kept at the school.

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 TYPES OF IRREGULARITIES THAT MAY OCCUR

NATURE OF IRREGULARITY
Late-coming (candidates will not be allowed to write if they arrive more than an hour
1. after the commencement time and no extra time will be given to candidates who
arrive late).
Bringing unauthorised material into the examination room (crib notes, cell phones or
2.
other electronic devices etc.).
3. Copying (from another person/any other source).

4. Allowing other candidates to copy from them.

5. Ghost writers (any other person writing on behalf of candidate(s)).

Removing pages from the answer book or damaging the answer book (all rough work to
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be done in the answer book in pencil, a line drawn across it and “rough work” written).

7. Writing the incorrect examination number on answer book.

8. Accepting answers from invigilators or any other official.
Failing to submit the answer script and loose answer sheets to the invigilator at the end
9.
of the examination session.
Being drunk/under the influence of any illegal substance and disorderly behaviour by
10.
candidate.
11. Any form of intimidation.
Getting the question paper from another source prior to the stipulated examination
12. date and time and distributing the question paper in hardcopy or electronically, using
social media (e.g., WhatsApp etc.).

13. Writing the examination outside the examination venue.

Failing to check with the invigilator about the correctness of the paper (number of
14.
pages, number of questions, duration of paper, correcting errata – if any).

Any act or behaviour on the part of the candidate or any other person that will allow
15.
him/her to gain an unfair advantage during the writing of the examination.

Failing to report any knowledge or possession of a leaked paper or gaining

16.
direct/indirect access to a leaked paper.

Failing to report direct/indirect access to a leaked paper through WhatsApp and failing
17.
to reveal the source thereof.