EXAMINATION REGULATIONS

AND

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

(REVISED 2024)

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This booklet contains the complete Timetable, the Examination Regulations and General
Instructions for the National Senior Certificate Examination. Ensure that all your subjects
have been included on the timetable.

Please note that:

• You must know the exact date and times that your subjects are to be written, as it is
your responsibility to be present at the correct time and examination venue.

• You must arrive at least 20 minutes before each examination, or earlier as indicated by
your school.

• A period of 10 minutes before the official commencement of the examination will be

allowed for reading time over and above the reading of any other instructions that may
be necessary. No notes, highlighting or listening to music tracks may be done during
this time.

• You may not be in possession of a cellular phone/smart watch or any other electronic
equipment for the duration of the examination.

• You may not have a digital translator, or any other electronic equipment switched on for
the duration of the examination session.

• You are not allowed to use a pen with erasable ink.

• No explanation of examination questions may be asked or given.

• The IEB will remotely monitor the examination sessions at venues via an audio-visual
monitoring system. This is for security reasons. You will be notified by your school. All
examination sessions will be recorded and may be used later by the IEB if required.

EXAMINATION REGULATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

1. Delegation of authority

Your principal is the chief invigilator and may delegate authority to one or a number
of invigilators. Instructions issued by an invigilator in matters relating to the IEB
National Senior Certificate Examination must be obeyed.

2. Disqualification

2.1 Any candidate will be disqualified if he/she:

(a) takes into the examination room or has in his/her possession whilst in the
room, any book, memorandum, notes, any electronic equipment, cellphone or
any paper whatsoever, except their personal copy of the printed instructions
to candidates and their timetable, and such answer books or other books or
papers as may have been supplied by the Invigilator.

(b) aids or attempts to aid another candidate or communicate in any way with
another candidate

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THE CANDIDATE IS LIABLE TO BE DISQUALIFIED AND HIS/HER RESULTS

FOR THAT SUBJECT AND PAPER WILL BE DECLARED NULL AND VOID.

Candidates that are disqualified under the above paragraph may be further dealt with
as the IEB may determine.

2.2 A CANDIDATE FOUND IN POSSESSION OF A CELLPHONE IN THE

EXAMINATION ROOM

(a) If you are caught with a cellphone or any other electronic device in the
examination room the sanction applicable will be determined by the outcome
of the investigation by the school.

(b) There are no mitigating circumstances even if the device was off as the
regulations are clear – no cellphone or electronic device is permitted in the
examination room.

3. Absence from the examination

As per directives issued by UMALUSI, the following procedure will be followed in the
case of candidates that are unable to write the National Senior Certificate
examination due to ill health or some other unforeseen circumstance:

(a) In order to be issued with a National Senior Certificate, a candidate must write
the examination of an approved Examining Body.

(b) All internal and external components of a subject must be completed in order
for a candidate to obtain a result in a subject.

(c) Candidates who are unable to write the National Senior Certificate
examination in one or more papers or subjects must write the May/June
examination the following year. The May/June examination is no longer a
supplementary examination, it is a new sitting. This means that if there are
two papers in a subject e.g. English and a candidate was absent for one
paper, both papers must be written in the May/June examination session.

4. Latecomers

Candidates who arrive more than 30 minutes after the start of an examination will
only be admitted to the room with the permission of the chief invigilator who has
consulted with the IEB.

5. Seating

Unless otherwise directed by the invigilator, you must occupy the seat assigned to
you.

6. Questions/Clarities during the writing of the examination

A candidate must remain seated and raise a hand for the attention of the invigilator.

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7. Leaving the examination room

With the exception of accompanied visits to the toilet, you will not be allowed to leave
the examination room until the prescribed time for the examination paper has
elapsed.

8. Stationery

(a) Answer books will where necessary be issued by the invigilator.

(b) All other stationery must be provided by the candidate.

(c) For the subjects Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy, each candidate may
have a scientific pocket calculator (silent, operational and non-programmable).
Learners may use calculators in other subjects when necessary.

(d) Mathematics, Mathematical Literacy and Physical Sciences: Mathematical

instruments, viz., rulers, pencils and erasers may be used except where
stated to the contrary in the question paper, the use of aids in the drawing of
curves is permitted.

(e) Engineering Graphics and Design: Approved drawing instruments, set

squares, protractors, scales, French curves or flexi curves, erasers, pencils,
drawing pins and approved calculators are permitted in the examination room.

9. Special instructions

The invigilator will advise you of any special instructions that may relate to the subject
that you are writing.

10. Language medium

Candidates must answer all questions in the Home and First Additional Language
papers in the language in which they are set. Questions in the Second Additional
Language papers must be answered in the language specified by the examiner. The
questions in other subjects may be answered in either English or Afrikaans (the
language in which the subject is registered), but no candidate may use more than
one language in the same paper.

11. How to use an answer book

(a) Front Cover: Enter in the spaces provided:

• Your examination number (Do not write your name, surname and the name
of your school).
• The subject and paper number (e.g. Paper 1); and
• Number of answer books handed in.

(b) Margins: Leave both margins on each page blank – the examiner will use
them when marking.

(c) Numbering of questions: Number your answers exactly as the questions are
numbered on the question paper.

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(d) Spaces between answers: Leave at least one blank line between answers.

(e) Responses by candidates: Unless otherwise instructed, write your answers

in ink, on both sides of the paper. Pencil may only be used to answer
questions in the papers where there is an instruction to do so.

(f) Answer Sheets and Answer Booklets: Should any Answer Sheet or Answer
Booklet form part of your answer:
• Write your examination number in the blocks provided, and
• Place the Answer Sheet or Answer Booklet inside the front cover of your
answer book.

(g) Deletions: Should you make a mistake, simply draw a neat line through the
word or portion to be deleted.

(h) Diagrams: Should you be required to draw a diagram, do not start the
diagram towards the bottom of the page – start at the top of the next page.

(i) Tearing of answer books: No page or any part of a page may be torn out
of the answer book that is to be submitted for marking.

(j) Rough Work: You may do rough work in your answer book but draw a neat
line through it and indicate that it is rough work so that it will not be considered
when your script is marked. Do not ask for or work on loose sheets of paper.
This will be considered as an irregularity as the marker will not know if you
brought notes into the room or the paper was handed to you. Your results may
be withheld until an investigation has been completed.

12. Questions to be answered

Answer the required number of questions only. The marker will only mark the
required number of questions in the order in which they appear in the answer script
and will ignore the remaining answers.

13. Explanation of questions

No enquiry related to the examination questions may be addressed to the invigilator.

14. What can be taken out of the examination room?

(a) only what you brought in; and

(b) your question paper, but only if it does not form part of the answer script.

15. Results

• The IEB will forward the results to schools, who will forward the results to their
candidates. The date for the release of the results will be confirmed.

• Individual results can be accessed on the Internet – www.ieb-online.co.za at the

time of release.

• Your results will be sent via SMS under the following conditions:
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(a) If the IEB has been provided with your cellphone number, your results will
automatically be sent to the number provided on the day that the results are
released.

OR

(b) You have registered a number to receive your results via SMS by sending
an SMS to 31155 from 1 October 2024 to 16 December 2024 using the
following text in the message:

Results Examination Number Date of Birth (ccyymmdd)

Example:

Results 243456789012 19970121

(c) You will then receive a message notifying you that the registration has been
successful, and you will receive your results when they are released. The
SMS costs R3,00.

(d) The message you receive will be in the following format:

Exam no.
Subjectcode1 Percentage1 (Rating level1);
Subjectcode2 Percentage2 (Rating level2);
Subjectcode3 Percentage3 (Rating level3);
Etc.
Result: BD Bachelor’s degree

Example:

IEB Exam Results

231001020123
N12ACCO 67 (5)
N12AFRS 82 (7)
N12MATH 43 (4)

NB: SMS results can only be sent to a South African number.

16. Fraud

The incidences of unethical behaviour and dishonest acts have been noted regarding
the manipulation of examination results.

Such incidents included the candidate manipulating the SMS received from the IEB
before forwarding to his/her parents and/or the candidate carefully manipulating the
statement of results that are issued by the IEB (e.g. Changing a Mathematics mark
from 68% to 88%).

These dishonest practices come to the fore when the candidate is not accepted at
the tertiary institutions on the basis that they do not meet the minimum requirements

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for study. The parents accuse the university personnel, staff of the IEB and staff at
the school of incompetence.

The IEB forwards the candidates’ results to the tertiary institutions at the same time
the candidates receive their results. Therefore, fraudulent behaviour will be detected
at some point during the process. Even universities outside South Africa verify the
candidates’ results with the IEB. The key purpose of that download or the request for
verification is to detect misrepresentation of results and to take action accordingly.

The IEB will consider reporting these cases to the police. Learners will then have a
criminal record.

17. Publication of Results

The IEB provides the media outlets with the learner results. This is sent
alphabetically by surname. Learners must choose whether or not their results should
be published in the media. Your school will require you to complete a consent form
confirming that your results may be sent to media outlets for publication. Please
understand that by choosing not to have your results published your name will also
be removed from the Outstanding and Commendable Achievement lists for the
media.

18. Certificates

The official certificate and statements of results are issued by UMALUSI. These will
be sent to schools during June 2025.

19. Re-marks/Re-checks

Re-mark: the answer script for that subject will be re-marked, but the ORAL, SBA
and PAT will not be re-assessed as these have already been subjected to moderation
process. Candidates are reminded that the IEB makes extensive use of double
marking, especially in questions of a subjective nature. Where there is a
disagreement between the markers, the scripts are marked for a third time by the
Chief Examiner. In these cases, there is little prospect of a successful appeal.
Therefore, in your own interest you are advised no to apply for a re-mark unless you
are confident that there is an error.

Re-check: The answer scripts will be checked to ensure that questions have been
marked, totalled and that all marks have been correctly captured. Appropriate action
will be taken if errors are found but questions that are marked will not be re-marked.

Viewing of Answer Scripts: The request to view scripts will only be considered if
the candidate had applied for a re-mark or a re-check of the answer scripts. This
must be requested within 30 days of the release of re-mark/re-check results.

Candidates may apply for a re-mark or re-check online at www.ieb-online.co.za. This

is the preferred method. You will be directed to a secure site for payment.

The closing date for re-mark/re-check applications will be communicated to you once
the results have been released. You can also check with your school.

Cost for Re-mark and Re-check are as follows:

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Re-mark: R1 033 per subject

Re-check: R523 per subject
Viewing of Script: R2 931 per subject

Please note that NO late applications will be accepted.

20. Next examination opportunity

The next examination opportunity for candidates who were absent in the
October/November examination session or candidates who wish to improve their
marks will be in May/June 2025. Please check with your school for these dates. The
timetable for the May/June examination session will only be finalised once the
registrations have closed.

Candidates may apply online at www.ieb-online.co.za to register for these

examinations. You will be directed to a secure site for payments. The cost will be
R1 807 per subject.

i. The May/June examinations will be based on the Subject Assessment

Guidelines and prescribed works of the previous year.
ii. Candidates who choose to register for subsequent examination sessions will
write the examinations as per the subject assessment guidelines and
prescribed works of that year.
iii. Registration for the 2025 May/June examination will be opened from 1 to 15
March 2025.
iv. Registration for the 2025 November will be closed on 31 March 2025.

21. Correspondence

All correspondence in connection with re-marks, future examinations, certificates,

etc. should be addressed to:

The Senior Manager: Entry and Resulting

IEB
P.O. Box 875
Highlands North
2037

Tel +27 (011) 483 9700

Email: [email protected]

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