Pretoria - Civil rights organisation AfriForum will be approaching the court to ensure that education oversight body Umalusi accredits the 2020 matric certificate despite the leaking of two exam papers.
AfriForum said it was taking this action because of the lack of information from the Department of Basic Education on the investigation of the leaking of the mathematics II and physical science II papers.
So far the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations, or the Hawks, has arrested only one person in connection with the leaking of the papers, which took place in November.
Themba Daniel Shikwambana, 31, who works at a Joburg-based company contracted by the department to print the matric exam papers, was subsequently released on bail.
The exam papers were also found to have been leaked from the Government Printing Works in Pretoria.
AfriForum’s lawyers have written to Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga demanding a progress report on the investigation into the two leaked papers.
Natasha Venter, manager of education rights at AfriForum, said they were demanding answers from the department as already more than two months had passed since the papers were leaked and more than a month had elapsed since the court judgment.
“It is now time that the department starts to give feedback regarding the progress of the investigation. The guilty parties must be brought to book to ensure that the integrity of the matric certificate is beyond reproach, as well as to serve as an example so that this type of fraud does not take place again.”
According to Venter, the arrest of Shikwambana did not mean that the investigation could simply be swept under the carpet.
“We want to ensure that the integrity of the 2020 matric certificate is beyond reproach and that the offenders be held accountable.
“We, therefore, want to know if the investigation is making progress, if any suspects have been identified yet and if the investigation will be concluded before Umalusi must accredit the matric certificates before the end of the month.
“We will also again approach the courts if Umalusi refuses to accredit the 2020 matric certificate as a result of a poor investigation to bring the guilty parties to book and to determine the extent of the leakage of the papers.”
Department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga could not pronounce on the progress of the investigations.
Mhlanga previously said they were concerned that the security breach had involved government printers, and that they would initiate talks with the relevant entities.
They could also not say at this stage whether investigations would be complete before the matric exams had to be accredited at the end of the month.
Pretoria News