The more than 60 000 grade 11 repeaters in KwaZulu-Natal have been given another option to help them finish school.
This follows an investigation by the KwaZulu-Natal department of education which found that most of the 62 000 learners repeating grade 11 this year are not coping and that schools cannot provide them with the help they need.
A new curriculum was introduced in grade 11 this year, which meant repeaters had to switch to a curriculum unfamiliar to them.
The alternative offered to them was to enrol at adult basic education and training centres or at private colleges as part-time candidates to complete their schooling.
Christi Naudé, spokesperson for the department, said the learners who opted to stay at school and repeat the new grade 11 were not being promoted, but were simply given another option.
This option means they can enrol as private grade 12 students to write their three best subjects in the matric examination this year but only if they obtain a continuous assessment mark of 50% and above.
These learners will have until 2011 to finish all their subjects.
Naudé said that to make up for the lost work, learners will receive extra lessons.
According to her the department could not take this decision earlier as it had to wait and see how many repeaters there were and how they were coping.