- Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has announced that leaked matric papers will be rewritten later this month.
- Mathematics Paper 2 will be written on Tuesday 15 December, while Physical Sciences Paper 2 will be written on Thursday 17 December.
- The Department of Basic Education has established that around 195 learners had access to the leaked papers.
The viral spread of information on cyber networks made it virtually impossible for the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to accurately identify the number of pupils who have had access to the leaked matric examination papers.
Last month, Mathematics Paper 2 and Physical Science Paper 2 were leaked on Whatsapp, having been viewed by an untold number of matriculants.
The Council of Education Minister (CEM) has therefore decided that a national rewrite of both papers is necessary.
At a press briefing on Friday, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced mathematics will be written on Tuesday 15 December at 14:00, and Physical Sciences will be written on Thursday 17 December at 09:00.
She said: ""It was not an easy decision to take but one which is necessary under the circumstances. We need to work hard to deal with the human factor in the examination system.
"It is clear that the people responsible for leaking the question papers are adults. CEM appreciates the work being done by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations, the Hawks.
Arrests
"We welcome the arrest that has been made and we hope more arrests will follow. We really need to send a strong message that tampering with national examination is a serious offence.
"The DBE and the PEDs must redouble efforts to prevent leaks in future and to pursue without fear or favour anyone culpable in these leaks or the further distribution of leaked questions or question papers."
Themba Daniel Shikwambana, 31, was arrested recently following a Hawks Serious Corruption Unit investigation into the alleged theft of the 2020 Mathematics Paper 2.
According to the Hawks, Shikwambana works for a Johannesburg-based company that is contracted to the DBE to print the 2020 matric exam papers.
Motshekga said stakeholders, school governing body associations, the school principals association, teacher unions, and the quality assurance agency, Umalusi, were consulted on the matter.
"There was convergence on the need to protect the integrity of the examination and to expose the culprits who place the lives of our learners at risk. The National Senior Certificate (NSC) is the flagship qualification relating to schooling. Credibility of the NSC examination is of paramount importance. Any lingering doubt relating to the credibility of the NSC examinations must be thoroughly investigated and addressed. Avoiding prior access to the question paper is what all security measures are directed towards," she said.
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Motshekga also said there were rumours that the Business Studies paper was leaked.
"But we moved swiftly to replace that paper. Following the initial reports of the leaks, CEM also took a decision to implement urgent steps to protect the examinations. It is for that reason that we felt we could not divulge the measures put in place to secure the exams. It has been a costly exercise but we needed to act fast in the interest of the learners and the public in general," she said.
Dr Rufus Poliah, chief director for national assessment and public examinations, said the first step the DBE took was to establish the spread of the papers.
"There were at least 195 learners that had access to the Mathematics paper. What we could not safely and confidently secure, [was] the extent to which the 195 would have shared this question paper with those around them," he said.