Cape Town - Examination quality assurance body Umalusi has condemned the alleged leaking of matric question papers and cheating in exams following word that the physical science paper 2 was leaked in a Whatsapp group on Monday.
It has called for justice in the matter and heads to roll.
The paper was allegedly leaked hours before the matric exam commenced.
It follows the leaking of mathematics paper 2 last week.
The person who had flagged it on Twitter shared screenshots that he said were shared with him by one of his pupils from Tembisa, Johannesburg.
“Umalusi strongly condemns all forms of cheating in the writing of national examinations including the leaking of question papers. Such fraudulent activities have the potential to compromise the integrity of national examinations,” Umalusi spokesperson Lucky Ditaunyane said.
“The continuing trend of paper leaks does not augur well for the writing of the 2020 National Senior Certificate examinations administered by the Department of Basic Education.”
The Council of Education Ministers (CEM) held an urgent meeting to discuss the implications of the incident on Monday.
In a statement, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) said several options were being considered to further protect the exams but “for security reasons these would not be divulged”.
“It is unfortunate that people continue to be involved in something like this even though the consequences can be dire. We condemn in the strongest terms the conduct of persons who undermine the integrity of the examination because it causes untold stress on the learners who are looking forward to exiting the schooling system with a pass from an honest examination, not one associated with cheating,” Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said.
“We want to reassure the public we are hard at work to ensure we protect the examinations.
“The Hawks have been helpful in working with us and there are encouraging developments coming from their side.”
The department said investigations involving the leak of the maths paper last week were at an advanced stage and would be “made public at the right time, while areas of possible areas of weakness have been identified.
nicola.daniels@inl.co.za