Johannesburg - An investigation was underway after a Grade 12 mathematics examination paper was leaked to learners in Giyani, Limpopo.
The Department of Basic Education said it was “shocked and disappointed” by the incident.
“The department takes this security breach in a serious light and has since involved law enforcement agencies, the Hawks and the SA Police Service, to swiftly investigate this matter. A case has been opened with the police. The department has established that learners in a few schools in the Mopani district have had access to the leaked maths paper before the paper was written,” department spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said on Tuesday.
“We are going to quarantine all the scripts of the schools in the area to establish if there are any patterns. A team from the department and province are working together with law enforcement to get to the bottom of this matter so that we can take appropriate action.”
Last year, a life sciences exam paper was leaked in Limpopo, despite security measures which the department said it had put in place.
In probably the biggest exam cheating scandal to hit South Africa, group copying during matric exams in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape in 2014 saw basic education Minister Angie Motshekga nullify results at 11 matric examination centres in KwaZulu-Natal and seven in the Eastern Cape. Strict measures were put in place to ensure that group copying did not re-occur in the 2015 examinations, Motshekga said at the time.
Mhlanga said his department would “do everything possible to maintain the high level of security” across the country and cautioned learners not to take part in the criminal act of acquiring a leaked exam paper.
“We appeal to learners, parents and members of the community to report any incidents of papers being leaked and expose those behind the acts,” he said.
At least 677 141 full-time and 150 183 part-time Grade 12 candidates sat for examinations that started on October 26 and are due to end on November 29.
African News Agency