Question NW3078 to the Minister of Basic Education to ask the Minister of Basic Education

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11 December 2020 - NW3078

Profile picture: Mthenjane, Mr DF

Mthenjane, Mr DF to ask the Minister of Basic Education to ask the Minister of Basic Education

Whether she has investigated the circumstances leading to the leaks of the 2020 matric questions papers; if not, why not; if so, what (a) measures has she put in place to ensure that it does not happen in future and (b) actions will she take to ensure that the integrity of the 2020 matric year examinations is not undermined because of the leaks?

Reply:

The Department of Basic Education has established a National Investigation Team comprising of the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA); Universities South Africa (USAf), Umalusi as observer, the Department of Basic Education, one member of the National Examinations Irregularities Committee (NEIC) and an independent Examinations Consultant. The National Investigation Task Team (NITT) has been mandated to determine the extent of the spread of the leakage, the origin of the leak and measures that will be taken to ensure the credibility of the 2020 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination and prevent a future occurrence of this nature. The investigation is ongoing and the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) has also been engaged and they are at an advanced stage of the investigation.   

(a) in terms of ensuring that this does not happen in the future, the Department has commenced with an audit of the entire value chain from origination of question papers to the delivery of question papers to examination centres. The purpose of this audit is to establish the weak points in the system with a view to strengthening these weak points and the  security will be doubled at all points in the system. The DBE will also appoint an independent Investigator to conduct a comprehensive audit of the entire examination system, inclusive of the Information Technology systems that are used to evaluate what new technologies can be utilised in future years to improve and modernise the examination system.

(b) In terms of the integrity of the 2020 NSC examinations, the Department has made a decision to rewrite nationally the question papers in Mathematics Paper 2 and Physical Science Paper 2. Umalusi has indicated based on a preliminary investigation report  that these two question papers have been compromised and therefore to restore the integrity of the examination in these two question papers, the decision to rewrite both these question papers on 15 December 2020 and 17 December 2020, has been taken.        

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