Tebogo Msimanga |
The Congress of South African Students (COSAS) says it noted the announcement made by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in which the matric examinations timetable has been amended to accommodate the 2021 Local Government Elections (LGE).
The exams will now start on 27October 2021 and not 1st November 2021 as initially scheduled. COSAS President Thabang Mokoena said this inevitably means that the dates for writing the different papers will be altered completely.
Mokoena said they were not consulted in the process to reach this decision “We demand that the IEC allow matric learners to vote during special voting day. We also demand that all learners, particularly matriculants, who come to vote on Election Day, should be prioritized and not be made to sit in the queue because they have to go back to study.”
Mokoena added that COSAS is of the view that if the government can shift the examination calendar because of elections, that is an indication that learners are an extraordinary constituency that deserves to be treated in a specific prioritized manner.
“Therefore, matric learners must be allocated special voting on a predetermined day before Election Day.” He said the future of the country can only be shaped by those learners who perform their civic duty of participating in elections.
