MIDDELBURG – The department of basic education has tightened all screws to make cheating and leaking of question papers impossible in this year’s final examination.
The department expressed it has enhanced security features on the matric question papers to prevent incidents of group copying.
In last year’s National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination, it was reported that more than 900 candidates were implicated in group copying, with 164 cases detected in Mpumalanga and 763 cases in KwaZulu-Natal.
Deputy minister Reginah Mhaule said that security features have been changed in this year’s question papers.
“Some individuals are attempting to deceive students by distributing old exam papers, claiming they are from the current year,” Mhaule said during visit at Ekwazini Secondary School in Mhluzi on Monday, October 21.
“This practice aims to exploit students, potentially leading them to believe they are studying the correct material, while in reality, they are learning outdated information,” she said.
“The exam papers have been enhanced with security features, making it easy to identify if a paper is outdated or not.”
Mhaule alao warned learners against relying on any papers circulating outside of official channels.
She further said that the department has a proactive approach to safeguarding the integrity of examinations, emphasizing the collaboration with law enforcement to ensure the security of the exam papers.
“We welcome the support we receive from the security cluster that in the event that there are incidents that are not foreseen, they will come in immediately. SAPS are helping us in the transportation and securing of the papers.”
The deputy minister’s visit at the school was aimed at monitoring the start of the 2024 final examination and to assess the state of Mpumalanga’s readiness.
Mhaule added that she was satisfied with the level of preparedness and administration of the examination. “I am convinced that Mpumalanga is ready as well as South Africa because we [the department] are ready. We did receive reports from all provinces on the school’s readiness and security of papers,” she said.
The paper also spoke to some of the learners moments before the start of the examination.
“I think I am 100% ready because the school has prepared us for the examinations. Our teachers went an extra mile to make sure that we are ready to write the final examination,” said Tshireletso Morena, learner who wants to pursue a career in economics.
Sabelo Nkosi, who wants to pursue a career in the field of engineering, said he and fellow learners were more than ready. “I am ready, we are ready as learners for we have been preparing ourselves through in and out this year. We have attended so many programme that helped us improve our marks. We have also been camping at the 4 SAI military base where we have always been studying and we are confident we are going to pass,” he said.
