There are many people in South Africa who fortunately do not require Basic Education skills as they are able to read and write read. However just being able to read and write does not guarantee success. Many of these people may have failed matric or not have had the opportunity to complete their schooling to matric level. On this page you will find general information on completing matric. Other pages in this section include who offers matric courses, obtaining your matric results and doing matric online.
What is adult matric?
Not everyone has had the opportunity to complete their schooling to matric level and if they have had the opportunity, there are many people who were not able to complete their matric due to circumstances beyond their control or who just didn’t have the right support. Often you find that several years later you are in a situation where you need to have a matric certificate in order to advance your career, find a job or obtain promotion. If this is the case and you are over the age of 21, there are a number of opportunities for you to obtain that much-needed matric certificate. Adult matric is the name given to matric for persons over the age of 21. Persons under the age of 21 must take the school matriculation exam. A Senior Certificate will be given to adult learners (Amended). A National Senior Certificate will be given to school students. Both work in the exact same way and are given out by Umalusi.
Having said that, if you do not already possess a grade 9 certificate, many organisations that offer adult matric will require you to take ABET classes to write the grade 9 exams before studying further for your matric. The matric exams typically include material from grades 10 to 12. That is why it is important to leave yourself enough time to study 3 years of work before writing the matric exam. Adult matric is also known as the Amended Senior Certificate (ASC).
Amended Senior Certificate (ASC)
An exciting development is known as the Amended Senior Certificate (ASC). More information can be found on the Basic Education website.
The Senior Certificate (as amended) now also allow candidates to obtain University endorsement. As in the case of the NSC exam, they can also qualify for admission to Bachelor, Diploma or Higher Certificate programmes at Higher Education institutions.
The following learners will qualify for admission to the amended Senior Certificate:
- Adult learners who are 21 years and older who have:
- a General Education and Training Certificate (GETC); or
- a Grade 9 school report (or the old standard seven). stating that they have passed Grade 9 or Standard 7; or
- a recognised equivalent qualification obtained at NQF Level which requires two official languages.
- Adult learners who are 21 years and older with an incomplete Senior Certificate qualification.
- Adult learners who are 21 years and older with an incomplete National Senior Certificate and whose School-Based Assessment (SBA) validity has expired.
- Only in exceptional cases, out of school youth, who are 18-21 years old and who could not complete their school education due to circumstances beyond their control, as verified by the Head of Department in the Provincial Education Department.
For information on registration criteria, subject choices and promotion requirements visit the Senior Certificate page on https://www.education.gov.za/Curriculum/SeniorCertificate.aspx
Other links
The SA-YES Resource Bank South African Youth Education for Sustainability
SAYes design, deliver and support mentoring programmes for youth in transition. All SAYes Mentorship programmes provide mentor-mentee matches with scientifically credible interventions to improve mentee independence (via the quality of decision making) and well-being (via the consistency of healthy practices). Interventions are person-centred, delivered one-to-one, and span ten transition domains focused on the intervention targets highlighted by key social development indicators (e.g., literacy, freedom of expression), sustainable development goals (e.g., decent work and economic growth), and population specific challenges (e.g., institutionalisation among care leavers). In the workplace context, interventions are ultimately aligned with core government priorities such as developing priority skills, ensuring sustainable access to the economy, and/or accelerating enterprise development in a value chain.
Second Chance Matric Programme
The aim of the Second Chance Matric Programme is to provide support to learners who have not been able to meet the requirements of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) or the extended Senior Certificate (SC), thereby meeting the goals of the NDP and the sector thus increasing learner retention. To find out more, click here.
News24
News24 provide useful information for matrics including…
… and many other resources. This site is worth visiting.
Department of Education – Matric Forms
The following forms are available for download as PDF from the Department of Education’s website:
- Verify your qualifications
- Re-Issue Matric Certificate
- Replace matric certificate
- Lost or damaged matric certificate? How to apply to replace that damaged or lost matric certificate. Includes information on, what you should do, how long does it take, how much does it cost, forms to complete and who to contact .
Umalusi – Council for quality assurance in general and further education and training Umalusi improves quality in public adult learning centres in South Africa, as well as in private and community-based organizations that offer basic education by :
- quality assuring the examinations for the General Education and Training Certificate (GETC) for adults, as well as the internal assessment that lead to this qualifications.
- monitoring the quality of qualifications and curriculum.
- accrediting private education centres directly.