Mom, am I in Matric?

There is nothing worse than a child finding out at the end of Grade 11 or in Grade 12 that they are not actually registered for matric. Well, one thing worse - discovering that the certificate they thought was real is in fact fraudulent while standing in the university admissions queue.

This can be avoided with just a few checks that could save your child from massive disappointment. The system of doing matric through distance-education and home-school providers has been in place for decades, so this is nothing new, but as it becomes more widely used it requires careful attention to confirm your child’s and their providers registration.

The details below only apply to learners doing the National Senior Certificate (NSC), the official South African “matric” qualification rather than a foreign qualification.

What is Matric

We tend to think of Matric as the final year of school but the Further Education and Training (FET) phase is a three-year qualification culminating in the National Senior Certificate (NSC). That three-year qualification covers Grades 10, 11, and 12.

To write the final matric exam, a learner must have completed Grades 10 and 11 at a school or distance-education provider registered with an assessment body such as:

• IEB (Independent Examinations Board), or,

• SACAI (South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute)

If a learner is enrolled with a provider that is not properly registered, they will not be allowed to write the NSC examinations. There are real-life cases, some happening right now, where learners discovered this only weeks before their final exams.

You can check if your provider is listed with either the IEB or SACAI here:

SACAI list: https://www.sacai.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/sacai-distance-education-provider-29062025.pdf

IEB list: https://www.ieb.co.za/schools/ieb-high-schools Under the “Country” drop down menu press “Online schools”.

If you don’t find your institution on these websites ask the provider for proof they are registered with the exam board, and verify this with the assessment body if in doubt.

The legal background

According to Regulation 7(4A) of the Regulations Pertaining to the Conduct, Administration and Management of the National Senior Certificate Examination (Gazette No. 31337 of 29 August 2008):

“A learner receiving home education must register with an education

provider registered with the assessment body responsible for the

conduct of the final National Senior Certificate examination to ensure

that he or she complies with-

(i) the programme requirements for Grades 10, 11 and 12

separately;

(ii) the School-Based Assessment, Practical Assessment Task and Language Oral Assessment requirements for Grades 10, 11 and 12; and

(iii) the external assessment requirements of Grade 12 as contemplated in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements of the various subjects.

The SA Schools Act, Section 51(11), echoes this rule: before a learner embarks on any studies following Grade 9, the parent must ensure that the learner complies with these registration requirements if they intend to write the South African Matric.

In short: registration isn’t optional. Your child’s path to matric is legally dependent on being with a recognised institution connected to a registered assessment body.

ADEPOS – An extra layer of protection for parents

In addition to checking that a provider is registered with the IEB or SACAI, parents can also verify whether the provider is a member of ADEPOS (Association for Distance Education Providers and Online Schools).

https://adepos.org 

What is ADEPOS?

Providers that are members of ADEPOS commit to ethical practice, regulatory compliance, and transparency. Checking for ADEPOS membership gives parents an extra layer of reassurance that the school they’ve chosen operates within a community that values accountability and learner protection.

A click in time saves nine

Matric is too important to leave to chance. An unverified provider can derail years of hard work. But the fix is simple: check and confirm.

A quick look at the IEB (www.ieb.co.za), SACAI (www.sacai.org.za), and ADEPOS (www.adepos.org) websites could be the difference between a proud graduation photo and a heartbreak in the admissions queue.

Don’t wait until Grade 12 to find out if your child is really in matric. Ask the question now and make sure the answer is yes.