Durban - A matric exam paper has been leaked in Limpopo, but it would have been known by now if it had been circulated to children in other provinces, Basic Education Department spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said on Tuesday.
Two pupils at a Limpopo school had access to the life sciences paper II before the exam on Monday, he said.
The finger points to provincial Education Department officials as the colluders.
While social media did pose a risk in the leaking of exam papers, whistle-blowers had alerted the department to the leak rather than circulate it, Mhlanga said.
The Limpopo provincial Education Department was allowed to run its matric examinations last year, after an order that it be placed under administration was lifted.
The department was placed under administration in 2011 for mismanagement and a lack of financial administration, among other irregularities.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga revealed that the life sciences paper II was leaked in the Vhembe district.
She admitted that going into the exams, the province had problems.
She said problems detected while checking exam readiness included:
* Limited exam staff at the head office in Polokwane and the districts, which had placed the exam officials under pressure.
* Exam offices in Polokwane did not have telephone lines, fax lines or internet connectivity.
* The storage and packing area for scripts was not secure and did not meet the minimum norms and standards for security, required for printing, packing and distribution sites.
She said a letter from quality assurer Umalusi, in October, also raised similar concerns about the department’s ability to run credible exams and asked the national department to assist Limpopo with the administration.
As part of their intervention, 26 monitors were sent to the department.
Despite the intervention, the department was alerted on Monday morning that candidates were given the life sciences paper II question papers an hour before the exam time.
Motshekga said the department had initiated a task team to probe the leak, find how widespread it was and make recommendations on the credibility of exams in the district.
Depending on the outcome of the investigations, candidates in the whole province might be required to rewrite the exam.
Earlier this year, Motshekga forgave candidates – mostly from KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape – who were implicated in last year’s group copying.
She nullified their marks and allowed them to sit for the current matric exams.
About 3 000 matric candidates were implicated in 153 exam centres.
Motshekga said in the Eastern Cape results at seven centres had been nullified, and seven others had been rescheduled.
In KwaZulu-Natal, the results at 11 exam centres had been nullified and 11 had been rescheduled.
The DA’s basic education spokesman, Gavin Davis, said Mostshekga needed to be held accountable all the more because the crisis went beyond matric.
Matric exams conclude on November 27.
The Mercury