The Independent Examinations Board, or IEB, is a South African independent assessment agency which offers examinations for various member schools. It is most prominent in setting the examinations for the school-leaving National Senior certificate (NSC), which replaced the Senior Certificate and Further Education and Training Certificate, which many private schools in South Africa write.
The IEB offers examinations for member schools at the Grade 12 (FET) level, based on the National Core Curriculum and using various forms of assessment, including:
- Continuous assessment such as orals, practicals and portfolios
- A final summative examination
The School Section acts in partnership with Quality Assurance bodies as well as with professional educationalists.
The IEB examinations are considered by many teachers, parents, students and universities – both within South Africa and abroad – as a more challenging and comprehensive assessment than the state and provincial equivalents.
Many students with excellent IEB results have been accepted into Ivy League and Oxbridge institutions without submitting to further requirements such as A-levels and SATs.
