VerifiedDoes Your Child Need Extra Time in the Matric Exam? Apply Early.
A learner who cannot read a question paper at normal speed, or who cannot write for three hours without pain, does not know less than anyone else.
The examination system has a formal process for exactly that. It is free, it runs through the school, and it has a deadline most parents find out about far too late.
This guide covers who qualifies, which forms the school submits, the 30 June deadline, and what support a learner can actually be granted.
Accommodation or Concession: What Is the Difference?
These two words get used interchangeably. The Department of Basic Education treats them as different things.
1. An Accommodation Changes the Conditions
It adjusts the testing environment or format so a learner can take part on equal footing.
Crucially, it must do that without altering the content or the cognitive demands of the paper. Extra time, a reader, a scribe or a large-print paper are accommodations.
2. A Concession Relaxes a Rule
The Department’s own example is exemption from a subject that affects assessment or promotion criteria, under Regulation 16 of the NSC regulations.
Important:
An exempted subject must be replaced by another subject. It is not simply dropped.
Who Qualifies for an Exam Concession?
Learners who experience barriers to assessment. But the test is not the diagnosis.
Eligibility rests on a full evaluation of the extent and severity of the barrier, not on a diagnosis alone.
So a medical label on its own neither wins nor loses the application. The file has to show how the barrier affects the learner under assessment conditions.
Who Applies, the School or the Parent?
The school.
Parents who phone the provincial department directly get nowhere.
The School Based Support Team identifies the learner, coordinates support and completes the paperwork the SIAS policy requires. The principal is accountable for managing it.
From there the application climbs:
- The District Based Assessment Committee recommends it
- The Provincial Based Assessment Committee approves it
- The Director for Assessment and Examinations signs off
This chain is set out in Government Gazette No. 37652 of 2014, Annexure C1. No teacher and no school can grant a matric concession on its own.
Which Forms Does the School Submit?
Knowing the form numbers helps when you ask the school what stage the application has reached.
- Form DBE 124 — the application itself, for an accommodation, concession, exemption or Endorsed NSC. Parents sign it.
- Form DBE 125 — the curriculum differentiation schedule
- Form DBE 126 — the health and disability assessment form, completed by a practitioner
- Form DBE 120 — the school’s request for district support
- SNA 1 and SNA 2 — the support needs assessment forms required by SIAS
First-Time Grade 12 Application:
This one is the heaviest. The school must also submit the learner’s Grade 11 results, psychological and healthcare specialist reports, the individual support plan and school reports.
When Is the Deadline to Apply?
This is the most useful fact on the page.
For learners eligible in Grades 10, 11 or 12, applications must be submitted by 30 June of the Grade 10 year.
Miss it and you are not automatically shut out. The Department allows first-time Grade 12 applications and ad hoc accommodations where something happens suddenly, such as an injury.
But a late application carries a much heavier evidence burden and is decided under time pressure.
If a barrier is already known in Grade 9, the paperwork belongs in the first half of Grade 10.
How Much Extra Time Can a Learner Get?
Additional time is set per impairment category and per learner, on Form DBE 124, and always depends on severity.
- Physical disability, repetitive strain injury and specific learning disability — a guideline range of 5 to 20 minutes
- Sensory impairments and other medical conditions — a maximum of 15 to 30 minutes per hour, depending on severity
Ask the school to show you the table that applies to your child rather than trusting a figure from anywhere else.
Rest Breaks Work Separately
- 5 minutes per hour is the common allowance
- Up to 10 minutes per hour where needs are more significant, such as pain, fatigue or attention difficulties
- Breaks may be taken as one longer break or split into two shorter ones within the hour
Where a reader or scribe is awarded, a 5-minute rest break per hour can also be arranged with the invigilator.
Do Parents Pay for Accommodations?
No.
The Department states that parents, guardians or caregivers must not be required to pay for accommodations.
You may still carry the cost of getting a psychological or medical report. That is a separate professional fee.
How Long Does an Award Last?
An accommodation granted in the FET phase is valid for that phase, apart from ad hoc awards.
It may also be used for one year afterwards in the case of a re-write. Raise that with the school before registering for a matric rewrite.
An award must also follow the learner into school-based assessment, not only the final paper.
Ordinary preparation still counts while the application runs. Our guide to preparing for the final examination applies to a candidate writing with extra time too, and the results release date is the same for everyone.
The framework sits on the Department’s inclusive education pages, and the procedural manual is published by provincial examination offices such as the Eastern Cape examinations portal.
Matric Exam Concessions FAQs
Can I apply for a concession myself as a parent?
No.
The school’s support team submits it. Your job is to supply reports and sign Form DBE 124.
What does a concession cost?
Nothing. Parents must not be charged for accommodations, though you may pay a professional for a required report.
Is a diagnosis enough to get extra time?
No.
The decision rests on a full evaluation of how severely the barrier affects the learner, not on the diagnosis by itself.
We missed the Grade 10 deadline. Is it over?
Not necessarily. First-time Grade 12 applications and ad hoc accommodations are provided for, but the evidence requirements are heavier.
What is an Endorsed NSC?
A version of the certificate for candidates with special needs, applied for on the same Form DBE 124. The district and provincial committees decide.
Start This in Grade 10, Not Grade 12
- Ask the school for its School Based Support Team
- Get the specialist reports done early
- Make sure Form DBE 124 is submitted before 30 June of Grade 10
- Confirm the award is applied to class tests and assignments too
An approval that arrives after the timetable is printed helps nobody.