Will A Grade 9 Certificate Be The New “Matric”?

What Standard Is Grade 9 In South Africa?

Grade 9 is what used to be called Standard 7 in South Africa. As seen in the image above, it is an NQF level 1. Grade 9 falls under the General and Education Training band and the purpose of this band is to equip learners with skills that will enable them to start working or to further their studies.

In the past, there were different standards, but the old National Senior Certificate had the same pass requirements in terms of marks. The only difference was that there were three internal levels. These levels are:

1. Higher Grade
2. Standard Grade
3. Lower Grade (this level was a “technical stream”)

The old Senior Certificate included subject passes at these different levels. Standard 7, now commonly known as Grade 9 was the earliest school exit level. This was before we were introduced to the National Qualification Framework.

The different versions of pass levels in the old Senior Certificate allowed students to have many pass options suited to the learners’ ability.

What Is The School Leaving Certificate In South Africa Called?

The school leaving certificate in South Africa is called a National Senior Certificate (NSC) or Senior Certificate (Amended) for adult learners. It is commonly known as a Matric Certificate and the grade passed in the final year of school is called Grade 12. 

How Do I Choose My Subjects In Grade 9?

You choose your subjects according to:

• What you are interested in
• Subjects that you do well in
• Subjects that match your personality
• Most importantly, choose subjects that will keep your options open for when you further your studies

Tips On Choosing Subjects

Here are three tips that can help you choose the right subjects:

• Talk to a career or school counselor
• Get in contact with a professional in the career you wish to pursue
• Job shadowing

How Can I Get My Matric Certificate Fast?

Here are the three ways you can get your matric certificate fast:

• You can complete a Matric Upgrade course in (3 months)
• Complete your Adult Matric in (1 year)
• Combine your matric results between (4 – 8 weeks)

You Can Complete A Matric Upgrade Course In 3 Months

This course is for students who are unhappy with their matric marks. You can apply for this course three months before the exams. For example, if you register for the exam in January you can write the May/June exams.

Entry Requirements For The Matric Upgrade Course

• Be 21 or older. You can apply when you are 19 BUT must be 21 or over when you write the exams.
• Already have a Matric Certificate. This can be an incomplete Matric Certificate OR a failed Matric Certificate.
• Study via distance learning
• Study in English

Complete Your Adult Matric In 1 Year

Matric College offers an Adult Matric course you can complete in one year. You only need to write six subjects and out of these six subjects, you only have to pass 5 subjects.

You can also complete the course in:

• Two years
• Three years

Two Years

If you choose to complete the course in two years, you can split the subjects. You can complete three in one year and the other three in the next year.

Three Years

For busy students, you can complete two subjects in your first year, two subjects in your second year and three subjects in your final year.

The choice is yours. You can complete this course as many times as you like. There is no limit to the number of times you can complete this course.

Entry Requirements For Adult Matric

• Be 21 or older. You can apply when you are 19 BUT must be 21 or older when you write the exams.
• Study via distance learning
• Study in English OR Afrikaans
• Have a Grade 9 certificate OR
• Have a Grade 9 equivalent certificate (ABET Level 4)

Combine Your Matric Results 4 – 8 Weeks

If you want to combine your Matric results it can take between 4 – 8 weeks BUT this may change. If you have written the supplementary exams, the Department of Basic Education will automatically combine your marks.

If you want to combine your marks as an adult, you can combine your marks BUT the combination will not be done automatically, you must apply.

The cost to combine your certificates is R141.00. These prices are only valid until the 31st of March 2022 and are subject to change.

How Do I Apply To Combine My Matric Marks?

• Via Post
• At Your Nearest Department of Basic Education (DBE) or Provincial Education Department (PED)

Should I Leave School In Grade 9?

This is a decision you should make based on the following two things:

• Academic Abilities
• Interests

Academic Abilities

If you are someone that does well in Science in school, for example, then you should complete a course within this field of studies. 

With good marks, you can become a Food Scientist or a Physical Science Teacher. In order for you to become a successful Food Scientist or Physical Science Teacher, you have to complete your high school career. This means that you cannot leave school in Grade 9.

If you have always wanted to work in Law Enforcement, Policing or Traffic Management, you can complete school until Grade 9. From here you can go to a TVET college where you can complete your NCV course. 

The above-mentioned course will specialise in your main “school” subjects such as English, Mathematics, Life Orientation BUT also subjects that will specialise in Law, Policing, Governance etc.

NCV courses are for people who only have a grade 9 certificate and want to further their education as well as complete Matric.

Interests

The traditional educational system in South Africa mainly focuses on the academic stream which does not allow students to complete subjects that meet their interests. This is one of the reasons why students choose to leave school after completing Grade 9, because the academic stream does not accommodate all students’ interests.

If you are not interested in the academic stream you can complete different streams like the vocational-technical stream OR the vocational occupation stream.

The decision is yours to make. Always make a decision based on your interest and abilities as these are factors that will make you successful in the career you choose.