Gauteng and Limpopo have been placed in the spotlight as it emerged that some national senior certificate candidates from the two provinces had access to the leaked mathematics paper 2.

The department of basic education announced on Monday that it was investigating the matter.

Department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said the origins of the leak are not clear as yet but the candidates who had access to the question paper are located in Limpopo and Gauteng provinces.

Mhlanga said the initial indications are that the paper became available in the early hours of the morning.

“The department is investigating the matter to establish the extent of the leak. The department verified the content of the leaked paper and found it to be the same as the question paper that was to be written at 9am. The department will enlist the support of the law enforcement agencies to assist with the investigation,” Mhlanga said.

This comes a few days after the department announced that an undisclosed number of matric pupils in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal were caught with crib notes during an examination last week.

At the time Mhlanga said the department was dealing with the incident and strengthening vigilance in examination centres to protect the integrity of the exam process.