“We will bring about change in this in the coming school year,” Minister Dirk Currie of Onderwijs, Wetenschap en Cultuur said in parliament on Monday about the test in grade ten, for which no resit was possible up to and including the 2025-2026 school year.
A great many critical observations were made and questions put to the minister by various DNA members regarding the possibility of a resit in grade ten. According to several DNA members, students who receive an unsatisfactory grade in only one or two subjects have to repeat an entire school year. Others performed well in class but fell short during the test. Many believe these grade 10 students deserve a resit, but that was not the case this school year.
Currie noted that it has always been the case that grade 10 students who do not pass the test do not move on. There has never been a resit in grade 10, and this was also not the case when this test was administered in grade 8. “It has been this way for years and it was adopted as such.” He does not agree with it, because only at this point is a resit not possible. At all other times, resits are possible for students.
To prevent chaos, this rule was not changed, but it is quite possible that it will be changed in the coming school year. “The student’s interests are central. That is why it is now being considered whether an exception should be made for grade 10 students, and a decision will be taken soon,” Currie said.
