2009 leaks 'not affecting 2010 matric'

2010-11-09 08:00

Nelspruit - Newspaper reports about leaked matric exam papers in Mpumalanga in 2009 were of no consequence to the 2010 exams, the provincial education department said on Monday.

"Five question papers were found in possession of students last year and those students were arrested," spokesperson Jasper Zwane said.

"The department wants to put it on record that the 2009 Grade 12 examinations results were credible."

The City Press on Sunday reported that a ministerial report found that "every one of last year's matric exam papers was leaked in Mpumalanga, making exams in the province not worth the paper they were written on".

Anxiety

Zwane said the department was worried about the timing of the article in that it was causing "unnecessary anxiety" while matrics were writing exams.

He said Umalusi, the independent quality assurer, had studied the details and pattern of results on an exam centre basis and the results of each exam centre.

It had done checks on all schools in the province and was satisfied with the results, which were then released to students.

According to City Press, the report said questions were raised about the validity of the papers after computers confiscated from people in Barberton were found to contain all of the matric question papers.

Typist arrested

The newspaper reported that nine people were arrested, including Bheki Zwane, a typist in the Mpumalanga exam directorate, who allegedly supplied the exam question papers using a memory stick.

Zwane said the department was doing everything to ensure that the integrity and conduct of the 2010 exams was not being compromised in any way.

The 2010 exams were "progressing smoothly", he said.

- SAPA