Officials became suspicious when a pupil took 30 minutes to complete a three-hour maths examination

A leaked maths exam paper has resulted in the Mpumalanga education department withdrawing papers from 146 schools, the Sunday Independent reports.

Officials became suspicious when a pupil at a Witbank school took 30 minutes to complete a three-hour maths exam last week.

“When the child was questioned, he indicated that he got the paper from another school. We put the school on alert and then withdrew the papers,” Mpumalanga education department spokesman Jasper Zwane was quoted as saying.

The department was investigating two schools in the Witbank area. Papers at schools across the Nkangala district were withdrawn and back-up papers brought in before pupils wrote the exams.

Grade 10 business studies, accounting, and agriculture, and Grade 11 accounting, physical science, maths, maths literacy, and history were replaced.