The Independent Examinations Board (IEB) is a South African independent assessment agency which offers examinations for various client schools, mostly

private schools A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...

. It is most prominent in setting examinations for the school-leaving

National Senior Certificate In South Africa, matriculation (or matric) is the final year of high school and the qualification received on graduating from high school, and the minimum university entrance requirements. The first formal examination was conducted in South Africa ...

(NSC) examination, a qualification that replaced the Senior Certificate and Further Education and Training Certificate. The IEB is accredited by

Umalusi In South Africa, matriculation (or matric) is the final year of high school and the qualification received on graduating from high school, and the minimum university entrance requirements. The first formal examination was conducted in South Africa ...

, the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training, and serves as a recognised assessment body.

History

The IEB was established in 1988, replacing the

Joint Matriculation Board The Joint Matriculation Board of the Universities of Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Birmingham (JMB), sometimes referred to as the Northern Universities Joint Matriculation Board, was an examination board, operating in England, Wal ...

as an alternative examination body that was for schools not affiliated with state assessment agencies. Its main goal was to offer high-quality assessments to schools that supported non-racial policies, during a time when many

independent schools A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...

wanted alternatives to state-run exam boards. Initially focused on providing an inclusive examination option, the IEB has since expanded its role, now offering a variety of assessments that meet high standards and encourage

innovative Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed ent ...

practices.

Examination and assessment services

The IEB offers a range of assessments at the Grade 12 level, including the National Senior Certificate (NSC), which is aligned with the National Core Curriculum. The NSC includes both continuous assessments—such as oral exams, practical evaluations, and portfolios—and a final summative examination. In addition to the NSC, the IEB provides Advanced Programme courses and benchmarking tests, such as the

Australian Council for Educational Research The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), established in 1930, is an independent educational research organisation based in Camberwell, Victoria (Melbourne) and with offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Cyberjaya, Dubai, Jakarta, London ...

(ACER) International Benchmarking Tests (IBTs) for Grades 3 to 10, and subject-specific tests like Thinking Skills and

Physical Sciences Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together is called the "physical sciences". Definition ...

for Grades 10 and 11.

References

External links

*{{official, http://www.ieb.co.za/ Education in South Africa School examinations