The IEB (Independent Examinations Board) is an independent assessment body accredited by Umalusi – the Quality Assurance Council to offer the following qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework: the National Senior Certificate (NSC) and General Education and Training Certificate (GETC) for the adult learner market. The IEB is a Proudly South African organisation, with deep roots in the democratic history of our country. Having taken over from the old Joint Matriculation (JMB) examinations, its very existence grew out of a commitment to educational and democratic principles.

The IEB works in an educational environment of extremes – state and independent schools; well-resourced and under-resourced schools; exceptional teaching that compares very well with the best in the world and classrooms in which, at best, teaching is synonymous with reading from a set of notes or a textbook, if a teacher is present at all; schools in which integrity and concern for a common good are overriding values and others where success is attained by fair means or foul, where values are secondary to one’s own individual needs and desires.

The NSC qualification as well as the IEB Further Studies Courses (formerly known as Advanced Programmes) are benchmarked by UK ENIC (formerly known as UK NARIC) which is operated and managed by Ecctis. ​ The NSC is considered comparable to GCE Advanced Subsidiary (AS) level standard, while the IEB Further Studies Courses are considered comparable to the overall GCE Advanced (A) level standard. With past learners admitted to, and excelling at, elite global universities, these Proudly South African programmes prepare learners for success both locally and internationally.

The key purpose of the Further Studies courses in Mathematics, Physics and English is to prepare learners for tertiary study. Further Studies Courses cater to Grade 11 and 12 learners, offering academically gifted learners the chance to delve deeper into select subjects while fostering self-study skills. These courses aim to cultivate independent and critical thinking, priming learners for university-level study. Available to both independent and public schools, these courses are quality-assured by Stellenbosch University's Unit for International Credentialing (SU-UIC), with certificates issued by the IEB. Further Studies courses have been benchmarked by UK ENIC and align with the rigour and benchmark of UK A-levels.

The removal of the designated list of subjects (via a government gazette notice on 2 March 2018) has some major implications. A learner may now be admitted to degree studies, provided that the learner: passes ANY 4 subjects from the recognised 20-credit subject list at 50% or more. (The only NSC subject that does not have 20-credits is Life Orientation.) passes one official language at Home Language at 40% or more. passes 2 subjects at a minimum of 30%. meets the language requirement for entry to further study. One of the two official languages offered by the learner must be either English or Afrikaans. To meet the language criterion to qualify for entry to study at a tertiary institution, the learner must pass either English or Afrikaans at the First Additional level, i.e. at 30% or more. A learner who offers 2 official languages at Home Language, one of which is English or Afrikaans, and the other one of the other official languages, e.g. Zulu, and obtains between 30% and 39% in English or Afrikaans and passes the other language at 40% or more, qualifies for entry to further study at a tertiary institution. This policy is applicable to the current Grade 12 learners that will write the NSC during the October/November examination session and also impacts strongly on the subject choices of current Grade 9 learners who will enter the FET phase in 2019.

HIGH SCHOOLS The school must be registered with the Provincial Department of Education and have a valid EMIS number. The school must apply for accreditation with Umalusi – there should be evidence that the process for accreditation has begun. The school must have at least shown progress in the accreditation process and completed the self-evaluation instrument The application must be submitted when the first cohort of learners who will write the NSC with the IEB are in their grade 9 year. This must be done by June of the grade 9 year. please complete the attached form and email it back to Applications@ieb.co.za PRIMARY SCHOOLS The school must be registered with the Department of Education and have a valid EMIS number. Registrations close on 31 March 2024. Only registrations received by this date will qualify for all psi benefits. Schools will be granted access to the psi web portal once proof of payment has received. Please email psi@ieb.co.za for further information.

All high school registrations are open from 1 January to 30 June , each year.

One must be a teacher at a school that is registered to administer the IEB National Senior Certificate or International Secondary Certificate Examinations and have recent and relevant teaching experience in the subject. Additionally, one should have experience in marking the National Senior Certificate or International Secondary Certificate Examinations. Posts for examiners, internal moderators, PAT developers, and SBA moderators are advertised through circulars to schools and are also placed on our website.

You can download past exam papers and memoranda from the last 5 years for free from our website under Resources. Examination papers and guidelines from earlier years can be ordered by emailing NSCexampapers@ieb.co.za.

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The positions are advertised in March through a circular to schools. You must be a Grade 12 teacher at a school registered with the IEB and should be teaching the subject you want to mark at the Grade 12 level. You must also have a qualification in the subject you are willing to mark.

Complete the online application form at https://forms.gle/462u8qZL5mMjocEU6 Proof of payment and the relevant documentation must be submitted with the application. Queries may be sent to certificates@ieb.co.za. The process for replacing / combining or re-issuing certificates takes 4 to 6 weeks.

Yes, you can apply for a combined certificate. Complete the online application form at https://forms.gle/462u8qZL5mMjocEU6 Proof of payment and the relevant documentation must be submitted with the application. Queries may be sent to certificates@ieb.co.za. The process for replacing / combining or re-issuing certificates takes 4 to 6 weeks.

Yes, you can apply for a re-issue of your certificate. Complete the online application form at https://forms.gle/462u8qZL5mMjocEU6 Proof of payment and the relevant documentation must be submitted with the application. Queries may be sent to certificates@ieb.co.za. The process for replacing / combining or re-issuing certificates takes 4 to 6 weeks.

SBA refers to the School Based Assessment – the tests, assignments, and examinations that the learner completed in their grade 12 year. The mark constitutes 25% of the examination mark.

There are 3 types of private candidates: 1. A candidate who chose to complete his/her matric over two or more years. The learner must complete internal assessment requirements for the subjects that they are registered in the year that they are registered. 2. A candidate who has written the NSC but would like to register for new subjects - The learner must complete internal assessment requirements for the subjects that they are registered. 3. A candidate who has written the NSC and would like to improve their marks for subjects that they have already written. The candidate’s internal assessment marks from the previous examination session can be used. There is no need to redo the internal assessments. A private candidate can register a maximum of six subjects in one year.

If you wrote the NSC examinations with the IEB from 2008 onwards, you can register to improve your marks. You must write at a school that is registered with the IEB for the NSC. Please contact rewrite@ieb.co.za for the application form. Your SBA marks from your previous examination will still be valid. If you wish to improve your marks with the IEB but wrote your NSC with a different examination body (e.g. DoE or SACAI), you must complete the internal assessment requirements again. You must enrol with a school or distance learning centre that is registered with the IEB so that they can ensure that you complete the internal assessments to be eligible to write the examinations.

You must complete the SBA for ALL subjects for which you wish to register. You must enrol with a school or distance learning centre that is registered with the IEB so that they can ensure that you complete the internal assessments to be eligible to write the examinations. Please email rewrite@ieb.co.za for the application forms.

The applications for the May Examinations are open for a limited period once the remark/recheck results from the previous November Examination are released. Learners can apply online at www.ieb-online.co.za. Payment must be done online.

You can register for the May Examinations, provided you were previously registered at an IEB registered school and completed all the SBA requirements.

You can register for the May Examinations, provided you were previously registered at an IEB registered school and the school has submitted your internal assessment marks which includes School Based Assessment, ORAL (for Languages) and PAT in subjects that have that component. You must write all the papers for the subject, not merely the question paper for which you were absent.

Remark – the examiner or a member of the marking panel will remark the entire question paper. Recheck – The IEB checks that all questions were marked and marks counted and captured correctly,No remarking is done.

The applications for remark / recheck are open for a limited period once the examination results are released. Learners can apply online at www.ieb-online.co.za. Payment must be done online.

The learner must have applied for a remark / recheck of the answer script. If the learner is not satisfied with the remark results, the learner can write a letter to the CEO requesting for the viewing of scripts. There is a fee for the viewing of the scripts which is determined annually. The IEB only allows an educationist to view the answer script. Arrangements will be made once the CEO agrees to the viewing of the scripts.

The purpose of a remark is to confirm that the answer script was marked correctly the first time. The marks could either increase, decrease or remain the same. The IEB only reflects a change in the results if the learner’s result increased as a result of the remark.

The IEB has an Accommodations Policy which has been distributed to schools. The school must apply for accommodations on your behalf. The IEB does not accept applications directly from learners. The approval for extra time depends on the learner qualifying for this concession and must have required evidence that he/she needs extra time.

Please contact ibt@ieb.co.za. The relevant information will be forwarded to you.

The IEB only registers examination centres when they have learners who must be registered for an examination. For further information, please email AET@ieb.co.za

You will have to pay an annual provider registration fee in order to be added to the IEB’s database. The list of providers is made available on the IEB’s website so that companies who wish to hire an FLC provider are directed to the website.

The IEB is an assessment agency and therefore does not produce any study material.

In accordance with the Constitution and policy guiding education, candidates with certain permanent or temporary physical difficulties or intrinsic specific learning difficulties may apply for accommodations. Examination accommodations are granted to enable candidates with specific barriers to learning to demonstrate their true ability in the examinations without changing the construct of the assessment.

Accommodation/s can be applied for candidates from Grade 8 until the end of Grade 11.

The list of available accommodations are described in the IEB’s Policy and Procedures: Accommodations and Exemptions policy. .

The required information to apply for an accommodation/s is described in the IEB’s Policy and Procedures: Accommodations and Exemptions policy.

A series of changes in respect of offering of the National Senior Certificate - the South African school-leaving qualification - outside the borders of South Africa has given rise to the need for the IEB to extend its activities to educational institutions and students in countries outside the country. To this end, the IEB has developed a qualification, comparable locally and globally to existing qualifications that mark successful achievement at the end of secondary education and furthermore, in many cases, determine successful achievement to qualify for entrance to tertiary study. The qualification is called the IEB International Secondary Certificate (IEB-ISC) and serves students in the senior secondary phase of their education – 15 to 16 year-old students, commencing with their 10th year of schooling. The qualification marks the end of formal schooling and is awarded to successful students. The qualification is offered through educational institutions, recognised by the IEB, to students across countries outside South Africa at schools registered by the IEB or via distance education institutions, registered by the IEB for this purpose. In this context, the term “International” is used in its meaning of “in a number of different countries”.

Recognition for the IEB-ISC by USAf has the proviso that the IEB offers the qualification in a foreign country (consistent with the laws of the country concerned). Students within South Africa have access to the IEB NSC and the Further Studies Programmes. Success in the IEB NSC is recognised for entry to many international universities and success in one or more Further Studies Programmes is recognised for entry into most international universities, given their status as equivalent to A levels, as benchmarked by UK NARIC in 2009 (Mathematics) and 2010 (English).

Any independent school outside the borders of South Africa that wishes to register with the IEB to offer the IEB-ISC must meet the legal obligations to operate in the country in which it is situated, including the offering of this qualification. You will find the process to become a registered IEB-ISC provider here:

One must be a teacher at a school that is registered to administer the IEB National Senior Certificate or International Secondary Certificate examinations and have recent and relevant teaching experience in the subject. Additionally, one should have experience in marking the National Senior Certificate or International Secondary Certificate examinations. Posts for examiners, internal moderators, PAT developers, and SBA moderators are advertised through circulars to schools and are also placed on our website.

You can download past exam papers and memoranda from for free from our website under Resources.

Please complete the attached Order Form and email it back. Smartlocking, our service provider will forward you a quotation for the camera including installation fee.

The positions are advertised in March through a circular to schools. You must be a Grade 12 teacher at a school registered with the IEB and should be teaching the subject you want to mark at the Grade 12 level. You must also have a qualification in the subject you are willing to mark.

The applications for the May Examinations are open for a limited period once the remark/recheck results from the previous November examination are released. Learners can apply online at www.ieb-online.co.za. Payment must be done online.

Remark – the examiner or a member of the marking panel will remark the entire question paper. Recheck – The IEB checks that all questions were marked and marks counted and captured correctly, No remarking is done.

The applications for remark / recheck are open for a limited period once the Examination results are released. Learners can apply online at www.ieb-online.co.za. Payment must be done online.

The learner must have applied for a remark / recheck of the answer script. If the learner is not satisfied with the remark results, the learner can write a letter to the CEO requesting for the viewing of scripts. There is a fee for the viewing of the scripts which is determined annually. The IEB only allows an educationist to view the answer script. Arrangements will be made once the CEO agrees to the viewing of the scripts.

The purpose of a remark is to confirm that the answer script was marked correctly the first time. The marks could either increase, decrease or remain the same. The IEB only reflects a change in the results if the learner’s result increased as a result of the remark.

The IEB has an Accommodations Policy which has been distributed to schools. The school must apply for accommodations on your behalf. The IEB does not accept applications directly from learners. The approval for extra time depends on the learner qualifying for this concession and must have required evidence that he/she needs extra time.

Please contact ibt@ieb.co.za. The relevant information will be forwarded to you.

All high school registrations are open from 1 January to 30 June , each year.