Government considers pausing school exams for local elections

Cooperative Governance Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa says school exams may be halted during election week to allow South Africans to cast their ballots.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Thursday that the upcoming local government elections will be held on 4 November.

However, this date coincides with the usual matric exam period, raising questions about how the government will plan around that.

A large number of voting stations across the country are typically located at primary and secondary schools.

This has raised concerns about which facilities will be used for voting and counting, given that the elections will coincide with the usual exam period.

However, Hlabisa said extensive consultations were held with the Department of Basic Education before deciding on the 4 November date.

"We considered that if the department of basic and higher education knew when the elections were going to be way in advance, they would plan to relax that week in terms of fielding sit-down examinations."

The Basic Education Department has yet to release the official matric exam dates.

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