The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education is investigating an “imposter” who tried to sneak into an Umlazi school to write a matric exam posing as one of their students.

The faux student managed to flee when exam monitors‚ who had grown suspicious‚ raised the alarm and called the police.

Education MEC Mthandeni Dlungwane‚ speaking at the Dumisani Makhaye High School in Klaarwater‚ Durban‚ on Tuesday‚ said that increased safeguards against cheating and the leaking of exam papers had borne fruit.

“Our measures have worked. We had an incident in a school in Umlazi where someone was trying to impersonate a student writing exams... trying to write for someone else. Our monitors picked up on this‚ and their scheme was uncovered. That matter has been dealt with‚” he said.

“The person fled in that case‚ as the police were being called in‚” he added.

Dlungwane said that the overall integrity of the national senior certificate exams had not been compromised.

The department has been hard pressed to stamp out mass cheating as well as the leaking of examination papers.

“We have left no stone unturned so that irregularities are prevented‚ especially dishonesty or unauthorised documents in our exam venues.”

He said that their multilayered security approach would now be applied to the marking of exams‚ during which officials would screen papers for any patterns that would suggest that students were coached.

“Markers will arrive on December 1‚ and they will undergo training and sample marking. The actual marking will commence on December 3 and conclude two weeks later‚ on December 14‚ at 27 marking centres in the province‚” he said.

National results will be released on January 4.