Parents and learners, unhappy with their final examination results, are urged to take it up with the South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute (SACAI).

The Umalusi Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training said it has received queries from learners and parents regarding the assessment outcomes of the 2024 SACAI National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams.

"The queries are mainly about the discrepancies between the final marks and the marks achieved by the learners during the year," Umalusi said.

It added that similar complaints were received in the beginning of 2024 and Umalusi quality assured the re-marking and there were no material findings.

Umalusi has put SACAI under close monitoring for 2024.

IOL previously reported on a number of parents who have complained about inconsistencies with their teenagers' final results despite performing well throughout the year. Since the article was published, IOL has received more complaints from parents claiming that SACAI's systems were flawed.

Parents further demanded that the Department of Education institute an investigation against SACAI.

Umalusi explained that SACAI, as a private assessment body, operates under its own policies that have built-in mechanisms for complaints to be lodged whenever a learner or parent is dissatisfied with assessment outcomes or procedural aspects of the outcomes.

Umalusi said it approved SACAI's exam results release because the body had; conducted the assessment free from any irregularity that may jeopardise the integrity of the assessment or its outcomes, complied with the requirements prescribed by the Council for conducting assessments, applied the standards prescribed by the Council with which a learner is required to comply in order to obtain a certificate, and complied with every other condition determined by the Council.

"The approval decision was arrived at after careful consideration of the evidence presented at the time. Such evidence was gathered by various roleplayers at different stages of our quality assurance cycle," Umalusi said.

The council said SACAI was granted full accreditation status effective from October 1, 2022.

Speaking to IOL previously, SACAI CEO Chris Klopper, accused parents and learners of "shooting the messenger in the foot."

He explained that the institution where the learner registered, the quality of teaching and level of preparedness for exams, for which the learner is responsible, are factors that determine the effect on the final exam performance.

Klopper said SACAI can only award marks based on the quality of the answers.