The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has ordered that learners from the Vhembe school district in Limpopo rewrite two National Senior Certificate exams after finding that the exam papers were leaked.
The department said it had discovered that the two examination papers for Life Sciences had been circulated amongst some learners before the commencement of the examinations.
“On the 16th November 2015‚ DBE received a tip off that the Life Sciences Paper 2 had leaked. The DBE was able to verify the information received and confirm that the question paper provided was in fact the official question paper. This confirmed a compromise to the question paper.
“The DBE immediately established an investigation team comprising the South African Qualifications Authority‚ University South Africa‚ Umalusi and the DBE and the investigation in the province has covered much ground.
“A criminal investigation was also initiated‚ as the NSC examinations are protected through legislation. The matter has been reported to the SAPS. A case was opened at the Thoyoyondou Police Station and the CAS number is 468/11/2015‚” the department said on Thursday.
To date the investigations had revealed that the leakage had been confined to the five circuits in the Vhembe district and five learners in Gauteng and two learners in Mpumalanga‚ it said.
“At this stage it appears that Life Sciences Paper 1 and Life Sciences Paper 2 were shared with the implicated learners in the Vhembe district; in the main via social media application WhatsApp.
“The learners in Gauteng and Mpumalanga had access to Life Sciences Paper 2 only and confined to a small number of learners who will be dealt with on an individual basis‚” the department stated.
It added that Hawks had now taken over the investigation covering the three provinces implicated.
“The investigation is ongoing and the devices of learners in some cases have been confiscated by police for further forensic investigation‚” the department said.
“The re-write covers the whole district‚ so that schools that might not have emerged during the preliminary investigations‚ but which are also tainted will be taken care of. A total of 15 960 full time and 1 540 part time candidates will write the Life Sciences examination.
“The DBE hopes to send out a clear message to learners and schools about the consequences of such malpractices.
“The DBE is aware that some learners who did not cheat will have to rewrite the examinations; however this is the unfortunate consequence which is vital in maintaining the credibility of the NSC examinations in the country.
“The DBE is not taking this incident lightly and hopes to send out a strong message to learners‚ teachers and officials that cheating in the examinations will not be tolerated. It is only through hard work and diligent study that good results will be achieved‚” the department concluded.
Learners ordered to rewrite exams after papers leaked
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has ordered that learners from the Vhembe school district in Limpopo rewrite two National Senior Certificate exams after finding that the exam papers were leaked.
The department said it had discovered that the two examination papers for Life Sciences had been circulated amongst some learners before the commencement of the examinations.
“On the 16th November 2015‚ DBE received a tip off that the Life Sciences Paper 2 had leaked. The DBE was able to verify the information received and confirm that the question paper provided was in fact the official question paper. This confirmed a compromise to the question paper.
“The DBE immediately established an investigation team comprising the South African Qualifications Authority‚ University South Africa‚ Umalusi and the DBE and the investigation in the province has covered much ground.
“A criminal investigation was also initiated‚ as the NSC examinations are protected through legislation. The matter has been reported to the SAPS. A case was opened at the Thoyoyondou Police Station and the CAS number is 468/11/2015‚” the department said on Thursday.
To date the investigations had revealed that the leakage had been confined to the five circuits in the Vhembe district and five learners in Gauteng and two learners in Mpumalanga‚ it said.
“At this stage it appears that Life Sciences Paper 1 and Life Sciences Paper 2 were shared with the implicated learners in the Vhembe district; in the main via social media application WhatsApp.
“The learners in Gauteng and Mpumalanga had access to Life Sciences Paper 2 only and confined to a small number of learners who will be dealt with on an individual basis‚” the department stated.
It added that Hawks had now taken over the investigation covering the three provinces implicated.
“The investigation is ongoing and the devices of learners in some cases have been confiscated by police for further forensic investigation‚” the department said.
“The re-write covers the whole district‚ so that schools that might not have emerged during the preliminary investigations‚ but which are also tainted will be taken care of. A total of 15 960 full time and 1 540 part time candidates will write the Life Sciences examination.
“The DBE hopes to send out a clear message to learners and schools about the consequences of such malpractices.
“The DBE is aware that some learners who did not cheat will have to rewrite the examinations; however this is the unfortunate consequence which is vital in maintaining the credibility of the NSC examinations in the country.
“The DBE is not taking this incident lightly and hopes to send out a strong message to learners‚ teachers and officials that cheating in the examinations will not be tolerated. It is only through hard work and diligent study that good results will be achieved‚” the department concluded.
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