The Independent Examinations Board, or IEB, is a South African independent assessment agency which offers examinations for various client schools, mostly private schools. It is most prominent in setting examinations for the school-leaving National Senior Certificate, or NSC (which replaced the Senior Certificate and Further Education and Training Certificate) for its client schools. See High school: South Africa; Matriculation in South Africa.
The IEB exams 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 NSC. Students with excellent IEB results have been accepted to Ivy League and Oxbridge institutions without taking further requirements such as A-levels. (SATs (or ACTs) are required for all major U.S. universities - the IEB NSC does not exempt students from this requirement.)
It is also important to note that IEB students who matriculate receive the same certificate as a NSC student would and universities may not bias between a state NSC and IEB matriculant.
[Hirsch Lyons]
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