Johannesburg - The Department of Basic Education has warned of a Twitter account carrying a fake exam number and a set of final matric results.
The account in question surfaced on December 23 from the name @Denzel_SA. The account holder claimed to have a certain exam number saying their mother had marked a matric Geography script and that the learner's final mark is 26%.
But Department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said that this was a complete lie and that authorities who marked scripts wouldn't necessarily have the final marks as answer sheets don't have percentages but rather actual marks.
"We don't know where it comes from. It's a fake. Anyone could have created it," Mhlanga said, adding authorities have since conducted investigations and have found that the exam number does not exist on the system.
@DBE_SA This tweet below is a lie. The exam number doesn’t exist. Answer sheets don’t have percentages but actual marks, so a marker would not have a final percentage figure after marking. pic.twitter.com/sSbbNdCrWB
— Elijah Mhlanga (@ElijahMhlanga) December 27, 2017
And with less than eight days remaining before the announcement of matric results by Minister Angie Motshekga, the department has also advised learners and their parents to remain calm during this time.
"We fully understand the anxiety but it’s also important to acknowledge that not all plans go according to expectations and that some of them will be disappointed with the results while others will celebrate their achievements. As a department we advise learners to collect their results from the school where you wrote because you will have an opportunity to obtain advice from a teacher or principal about the options that are available, whether it’s remarking, rechecking or lodging an application for supplementary exams," Mhlanga said.
Meanwhile, preparations are under way for results announcement.
Statutory quality council Umalusi will hold a press briefing on Friday to outline its findings on the results and officially approve them.