| (1) | Foundation Phase (Grades R-3) |
| (a) | The following guidelines stipulated in paragraph 7(2) of the policy document, National policy pertaining to the programme and promotion requirements of the National Curriculum Statement Grades R-12 determine a learner’s progress in Grade R— |
| (i) | Adequate Achievement (Level 4) (50%-59%) in one official language at Home Language level as contemplated in subregulation 6(1)(a); and |
| (ii) | Moderate Achievement (Level 3) (40%-49%) in Mathematics as contemplated in subregulation 6(1)(b). |
| (aA) | All schools must comply with the minimum promotion requirements as stipulated in National Curriculum Statement Grades 1-3. Independent schools may, however, deviate from these requirements, provided they are higher and have been determined in consultation with the parents of the school involved. |
| (b) | As far as possible all learners should progress from Grade R to Grade1 provided that they are in the correct age cohort. |
| (c) | In schools where Grade R is offered and where, the LoLT is not the learner’s Mother Tongue, such a learner should be allowed, to progress from Grade R to Grade 1 with a Moderate Achievement (Level 3) in Home Language. |
| (d) | In schools where Grade R is offered, the learner’s progress in Grade R should be closely tracked and monitored on an on-going basis using holistic rubrics that give account of the skills and knowledge that the learner demonstrates by observing him or her in daily activities. |
| (e) | The following guidelines stipulated in paragraph 7(3) of the policy document, National policy pertaining to the programme and promotion requirements of the National Curriculum Statement Grades R-12 determine whether a learner should be permitted to progress from Grade 1 to Grade 2 and from Grade 2 to Grade 3 and from Grade 3 to 4 according to these requirements— |
| (i) | Adequate Achievement (Level 4) (50%-59%) in one official language at Home Language level; and |
| (ii) | Moderate Achievement (Level 3) (40%-49%) in the second required official language at First Additional Language level; and |
| (iii) | Moderate Achievement (Level 3) (40%-49%) in Mathematics. |
| (iiiA) | Adequate Achievement (Level 4) (50%-59%) in South African Sign Language at Home Language level as contemplated in paragraph 5(1)(a)(iA); |
[Regulation 6(1)(e)(iiiA) substituted by section 4(a) of Notice No. 2455, GG46847, dated 2 September 2022]
| (f) | Deaf learners, who do not offer South African Sign Language at Home Language level, may obtain an Elementary Achievement (Level 2) (30—39%) in one of the two required official languages as contemplated in subregulations (e)(i), and (e)(ii) above. |
| (g) | Where a learner enters formal schooling in Grade 1, such a learner should be given adequate support to cope with Grade 1 programme requirements and allowance should be made for such a learner to progress to Grade 2 in accordance with the age cohort. |
| (h) | If a learner in Grades 1-3 does not meet the minimum guidelines stipulated in subregulation (e) in all three (3) of the required subjects for progression, such a learner will be required to repeat the grade once only in the Foundation Phase. Learners repeating a grade must be offered adequate additional support in order to achieve an appropriate level of competence in order to progress to the next grade. |
| (i) | Should a learner in Grades 1-3 not meet the minimum guidelines in subregulation (e) in all three (3) of the required subjects for a second time in the Foundation Phase, such a learner may only be retained once in the Foundation Phase, excluding Grade R, in order to prevent the learner being retained in this phase for longer than four years. |
| (j) | Learners repeating a grade must be offered adequate additional support in order to achieve an appropriate competence as contemplated in subregulation (e) in order to progress to the next grade. |
| (2) | Intermediate Phase (Grades 4-6) |
| (a) | Learners in Grades 4-6 will be progressed from grade to grade if they have— |
| (i) | complete all School-Based Assessment as contemplated in paragraphs 6 and 8(1) of the policy document, National Protocol for Assessment Grades R – 12, and Section 4 of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements of the various subjects listed in Annexure B. |
| (ii) | Comply with the following guidelines stipulated in paragraph 14(2) of the policy document, National policy pertaining to the programme and promotion requirements of the National Curriculum Statement Grades R-12— |
| (aa) | Adequate Achievement (Level 4) (50%-59%) in one official language at Home Language level; |
| (bb) | Moderate Achievement (Level 3) (40%-49%) in the second required official language at First Additional Language level; |
| (bbA) | Adequate Achievement (Level 4) (50%-59%) in South African Sign Language at Home Language level as contemplated in regulation 5(2)(a)(iA); |
[Regulation 6(2)(a)(ii)(bbA) substituted by section 4(b) of Notice No. 2455, GG46847, dated 2 September 2022]
| (cc) | Moderate Achievement (Level 3) (40%-49%) in Mathematics; and |
| (dd) | moderate Achievement (Level 3) (40%-49%) in any other two (2) of the remaining approved subjects. |
| (aA) | All schools must comply with the minimum promotion requirements as stipulated in National Curriculum Statement Grades 4-6. Independent schools may, however, deviate from these requirements, provided they are higher and have been determined in consultation with the parents of the school involved. |
| (b) | If a learner in Grades 4-6 does not meet the minimum guidelines in subregulation (a) in all five (5) of the required subjects for progression, such a learner may only be retained once in the Intermediate Phase in order to prevent the learner being retained in this phase for longer than four years. |
| (c) | Learners repeating a grade must be offered adequate additional support in order to achieve an appropriate level of competence as contemplated in subregulation (a) in order to progress to the next grade. |
| (d) | Deaf learners, who do not offer South African Sign Language at Home Language level, may obtain an Elementary Achievement (Level 2) (30—39%) in one of the two required official languages as contemplated in subregulations, (ii)(aa), and (ii)(bb) above. |
| (3) | Senior Phase (Grades 7-9) |
| (a) | Learners in Grades 7-9 will be promoted from grade to grade if they have— |
| (i) | complete all School-Based Assessment as contemplated in paragraphs 6 and 8(1) of the policy document, National Protocol for Assessment Grades R-12, and in Section 4 of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements of the various subjects listed in Annexure C. |
| (ii) | offered nine (9) subjects contemplated in paragraph 19 of the policy document, National policy pertaining to the programme and promotion requirements of the National Curriculum Statement Grades R-12 and have complied with the following promotion requirements stipulated in paragraph 21(1) of the said policy document in eight (8) subjects, including the subjects listed in subparagraphs (aa), (bb), and (cc) below — |
| (aa) | Adequate Achievement (Level 4) (50%-59%) in one language at Home Language level; |
| (bb) | Moderate Achievement (Level 3) (40%-49%) in the second required official language at First Additional Language level; |
| (bbA) | Adequate Achievement (Level 4) (50%-59%) in South African Sign Language at Home Language level as contemplated in regulation 5(3)(a)(iA); |
[Regulation 6(3)(a)(ii)(bbA) substituted by section 4(c) of Notice No. 2455, GG46847, dated 2 September 2022]
| (cc) | Moderate Achievement (Level 3) (40%-49%) in Mathematics); |
| (dd) | Moderate Achievement (Level 3) (40%-49%) in any three (3) of the other required subjects; and |
| (ee) | At least an Elementary Achievement (Level 2) (30%- 39%) in any two (2) of the other required subjects. |
| (iii) | The School-Based Assessment component of the ninth subject must have been completed. |
| (iv) | Deaf learners, who do not offer South African Sign Language at Home Language level, should obtain an Elementary Achievement (Level 2) (30-39%) in one of the two required official languages as contemplated in subregulations (ii)(aa), and (ii)(bb) above. |
| (ivA) | All schools must comply with the minimum promotion requirements as stipulated in National Curriculum Statement Grades 7-9. Independent schools may, however, deviate from these requirements, provided they are higher and have been determined in consultation with the parents of the school involved. |
| (v) | A learner may be retained once in the Senior Phase in order to prevent the learner being retained in this phase for longer than four years. |
| (vi) | Learners repeating a grade must be offered adequate additional support in order to achieve an appropriate level of competence as contemplated in subregulation (e) in order to progress to the next grade. |
| (4) | Further Education and Training Phase (Grades 10-12) |
| (a) | Learners in Grades 10-12 will be promoted from grade to grade if they have— |
| (i) | complete all School-Based Assessment as contemplated in paragraphs 6 and 8(1) of the policy document, National Protocol for Assessment Grades R-12, and in Section 4 of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements of the various subjects listed in Annexure D. |
| (ii) | offered and completed the Practical/Oral Assessment Tasks as contemplated in paragraphs 7 and 8(1) of the policy document, National Protocol for Assessment Grades R-12, and in Section 4 of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements in the following subjects if these subjects have been offered— |
| (aa) | Agriculture: Agricultural Management Practices and Agricultural Technology; |
| (bb) | Culture and Arts: Dance Studies, Design, Dramatic Arts, Music and Visual Arts; |
| (cc) | Languages: Oral mark; |
| (dd) | Technology: Civil Technology, Electrical Technology, Mechanical Technology and Engineering Graphics and Design; |
| (ff) | Computer Sciences: Computer Applications Technology and Information Technology; and |
| (gg) | Services: Consumer Studies, Hospitality Studies and Tourism. |
| (iii) | obtained the following end-of-year examination pass requirements in not fewer than seven (7) subjects stipulated in paragraph 29 of the policy document, National policy pertaining to the programme and promotion requirements of the National Curriculum Statement Grades R-12— |
| (aa) | achieved 40% in three subjects, one of which is an official language at Home Language level and has complied with the School-Based Assessment component in the relevant subjects; |
| (bb) | achieved 30% in three subjects and has complied with the School-Based Assessment component in the relevant subjects; and |
| (cc) | completed and submitted the School-Based Assessment component in the subject failed. |
| (iv) | A learner who is not able to offer the Physical Education Task (PET) task as a fifth component in Life Orientation may be exempted by the Head of the assessment body or his or her nominee, provided a valid medical reason is submitted. If the learner’s request for exemption is successful, his or her marks for Life Orientation will be recalculated in terms of four tasks. |
| (v) | A learner who has offered more than one official language at Home Language level as part of the required seven (7) subject package, may pass the additional language at Home Language level at 30%, provided he or she has met the promotion requirements as stipulated in subparagraph (iii). |
| (b) | A condonation of a maximum of one (1) subject will only be applied to a Grade 12 candidate in the final National Senior Certificate examination in terms of the following: |
| (i) | if such a candidate requires a maximum of 2%, either to obtain a pass at 30% or 40%; and |
| (ii) | such a condonation is applied in only one subject, provided the application of the condonation allows the candidate to obtain the National Senior Certificate qualification. |
| (c) | A learner may only be retained once in the Further Education and Training Phase in order to prevent the learner for being retained in the phase for more than four years. |
| (cA) | The norm for repetition, namely that a learner may not be retained in the Further Education and Training Phase for a period not exceeding four years will, subject to subregulation (cB), only be applied in cases where it is considered as in the best interest of learners to be progressed to the next grade. Considering this, progression to either Grade 10 or Grade 11, is subject to the following criteria— |
| (i) | the learner must have failed either Grade 10 or Grade 11, and repeated either Grade 10 or Grade 11 by means of one of the following scenarios— |
| (aa) | must have repeated Grade 10 and was unable in meeting the promotion requirements at the end of the second year in Grade 10; or |
| (bb) | must have met Grade 10 promotion requirements, but was unsuccessful in meeting the Grade 11 promotion requirements after a period of two years; or |
| (cc) | must have been unsuccessful in meeting Grade 10 promotion requirements at the end of the first year, was progressed to Grade 11 the following year but was unable in meeting the Grade 11 promotion requirements at the end of the first year in Grade 11; and |
| (ii) | pass four of the seven subjects, offered for the National Senior Certificate, comprising— |
| (aa) | the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) and |
| (bb) | three other approved subjects, including Life Orientation, selected from Groups A and/or B in Annexure B as contemplated in Regulation 4B(a) and (b); |
| (iii) | attended school on a regular basis. Absenteeism in excess of 20 days, without a valid reason, will disqualify the learner from being progressed. If the learner has been absent for more than 20 days, without a valid reason, this constitutes irregular attendance; and |
| (iv) | complied with the prescribed School-Based Assessment (SBA) requirements for all subjects offered, including the failed subjects for that academic year as contemplated in Regulations 7 and 8; |
| (cB) | To establish whether a learner should be retained in the Further Education and Training Phase or progressed to the next grade, the following procedure must be followed— |
| (i) | the school must convene a special meeting of relevant subject staff to evaluate each learner holistically that has not met the promotion requirements more than once in Grade 10 or 11; |
| (ii) | if there is consensus among all subject teachers during the promotion/progression meeting that the learner should be retained in the current grade, then a meeting must be held with the parent/guardian so that the advice is carefully and clearly explained by the school and understood by the parent/guardian before the learner’s school report is handed to them; |
| (iii) | the decision reached at the meeting contemplated in subregulation (ii) must be reflected on the learner’s report card. If the learner is retained, this must be confirmed in writing by the parent; and |
| (cC) | A parent/guardian has a right to appeal the final decision made by the school to progress or retain a learner and must follow the following process— |
| (i) | to appeal a progression or retention decision, the parent/guardian must submit a written request, not later than three (3) days after the official opening of schools, to the school principal specifying the reasons why the progression or retention decision is being contested; |
| (ii) | within fourteen (14) working days of receiving a request to appeal, the Head of Department or his/her designee shall make a final determination in this regard; and |
| (iii) | the onus shall be on the parent as the appealing party to show why the progression or retention decision should be overruled. |
| (cD) | Districts and schools must have clearly articulated intervention strategies that include an early identification of low achievers or at-risk learners so that the school, district and province can develop and implement additional learning opportunities. |
| (cE) | The Provincial Education Department must monitor the implementation of the Progression Policy across all schools to ensure compliance with it. |
| (d) | Multiple repetition in Grades 10 and 11 must not be used for gatekeeping purposes. Learners repeating either Grade 10 or 11 must receive the relevant support to enable him or her to progress with their cohort to the next grade the following year. |
| (e) | Progression in Grades 10-12 does not guarantee the final certification of a learner in Grade 12 and such a learner must comply with the certification requirements as contemplated in paragraph 37(1)(a) of the policy document, National policy pertaining to the programme and promotion requirements of the National Curriculum Statement Grades R-12 to enable him or her to obtain a National Senior Certificate. Progressed learners will, however, be allowed multiple examination option, which implies that the learner writes a limited number of subjects in the first sitting of the examination as set out in Regulation 41A of the Regulation document, Regulations pertaining to the Conduct, Administration and Management of the National Senior Certificate examination, published as Government Regulation Notice No. R872 in Government Regulation Gazette No. 31337 of 29 August 2008 and be allowed to write the remaining subjects in a subsequent examination. |
