NASCA stands for National Senior Certificate for Adults. By definition, NASCA is a qualification at NQF Level 4 on the General and Further Education and Training Qualifications Sub-framework (GFETQSF) of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).

SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY (SAQA) ID FOR NASCA

NASCA has SAQA ID OF: 91672

THE FOLLOWING ARE THE MAIN GOALS FOR OBTAINING NASCA

  • To improve one’s chances of employment
  • To enable one to pursue further education and obtain apprenticeships,  higher certificates courses, diploma programmes and degree programmes
  • Provide learners with knowledge so as to make meaningful contribution be it socially, politically and economically.

Read more: What is NASCA-The New Adult Matric

REQUIREMENTS NEEDED FOR ONE TO STUDY NASCA

There are no specific requirements needed for one to enroll for NASCA. This means that there are no documents that one must submit such as previous school report or any proof of previous learning. However with that being said, this does not eliminate the importance of prior schooling as a foundation you will need.

NASCA subjects already assume that you have a foundation of grade 10 and 11 and this might be the challenge for students who never did formal schooling at all. Since this is a senior certificate and it must meet the quality standards of a senior certificate, the level of the subjects are similar to that of grade 12. Students will need to be vigilant.

SCHOOL BASED ASSESSEMENT AND PORTFOLIO OF EVIDENCE

NASCA does not require students to do any school based assessment (SBA) or any portfolio of evidence. This means that the final exams contribute 100% to the student’s performance.

QUALIFICATION STRUCTURE OF NASCA AND MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

All National Senior Certificate qualifications must have 120 credits. NASCA subjects have each 30 credits. This means you need to pass a minimum of four (4) subjects to obtain 120 credits. Students are allowed to write more than the minimum required subjects depending on their career paths.

The following are the pass conditions and subject combinations:

  • The pass mark for all subjects is 50%. A student must obtain a minimum of 50% in at least four (4) subjects in the final exam. However the student is allowed to do more than four subjects depending on the requirements of their career paths.
  • There are two compulsory subjects of which one is a language and the other one a mathematical subject.
    • In total there are eleven (11) languages to choose from and a student must at least have one. In choosing of the languages, note that you must choose languages that will not limit you when you pursue further education. For example, if English is a requirement for the career you want to pursue, you need to ensure you take English as one of the languages.
    • There are two mathematics subjects to choose from; Mathematics or Quantitative literacy. A student cannot do both. It is therefore important to consider your career requirements. Mathematics is Pure Mathematics or what some call Mathematics core. Quantitative literacy is what some refer to as Mathematical literacy.
    • The third and fourth subjects will be taken from the remaining other fields. A student in this scenario is allowed to choose a second language from the 11 official languages as one of the two remaining subjects. The other fields where students will choose subjects from include: Natural Sciences, Information and Communication Technology, Human and Social Sciences, and Economic and Management Sciences. There are further condition with the choice of two languages.

Read more on NASCA subjects and other relevant information.

WAYS OF STUDYING OR PREPARING FOR FINAL EXAMS

NASCA is designed with the adult student in mind. This means during the formulation of the curriculum, they had in mind a student affected by a myriad of circumstances that usually impact on their performance. They therefore removed most of the ‘red tape’ and unnecessary requirements that ends up disqualifying students from writing exams.

They removed conditions such as compulsory attendance, compulsory school based assessments (SBA) or portfolio of evidence or continuous assessment mark (ICASS). With NASCA a student only needs to enrol at a centre accredited by Umalusi, and can then focus on writing their final exams at an appointed time.

This means that students can learn in the following ways:

  • Self-study (home schooling)
  • Distance learning or correspondence learning
  • Face to face through part-time or full-time contact classes
  • Private tuition

To re-iterate, the most important thing is for a student to register for the national exam on time and only come for the final exams. The students is allowed to write all the four or more subjects in one exam sitting or they can split the subjects and write them of a period of time. This depends on the student’s understanding and how they cope with content.

SITTING FOR DIFFERENT EXAMS AND RE-WRITES OF NASCA

The student is allowed to sit for different exams. The exams for NASCA are annually mid-year. The student can write all the subjects at once and once passed obtain their certificate. The student can alternatively write the subjects over years by taking one or two subjects at a time. This is acceptable. Also when the student has failed a subject, they can re-write it in the next exam sitting to upgrade their marks.

If a student is not happy with their marks, they can re-write the subject again and improve on their marks. The mark that will be used to obtain the final certificate will be the highest mark the student obtained be it before or after the re-write. Students must therefore not fear re-writing in case their performance drops. Also it is important to note that the minimum pass mark is 50%.

NASCA AND OTHER SENIOR CERTIFICATES

NASCA is a stand-alone senior certificate and cannot be combined with other certificates. Students who previously wrote other national exams such as National Senior Certificate (NSC) or Technical Matric N3 (Nated-Report 191) or National Certificate Vocational (NCV) will need to start afresh when enrolling for NASCA. The subjects or marks of different curriculums unfortunately cannot be combined.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

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PRESS RELEASE ON NASCA

New Matric Certificate for adults on the way-it is called NASCA

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NASCA-NATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE FOR ADULTS
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