MATRIC exam papers for maths, physics and English home language were leaked to about 26 pupils from seven schools in Pretoria, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube confirmed on Thursday.
Gwarube said a Department of Basic Education (DBE) official, who has a child in matric, has been implicated in the breach and has since been suspended.
The leak initially appeared to involve only English Home Language Paper 2 after the Gauteng Department of Education flagged six scripts that closely resembled the marking guidelines, with one candidate’s answers matching the memorandum almost word for word.
However, investigations launched after the complaint revealed that the leak was more extensive.
Twenty-six pupils interviewed during the probe admitted to seeing question papers for maths, physics and English Home Language before the exams.
Gwarube said preliminary findings indicate that the breach occurred at the DBE’s offices. Those implicated have been suspended, and the matter has been reported to the South African Police Service (Saps).
“Possessing documents that belong to the state is illegal.”
She said the question papers were believed to have been accessed and stored on a USB device before being distributed.
Gwarube emphasised that the integrity of the national senior certificate (NSC) results remains intact, saying the breach appears to be confined to the Pretoria area.
She also issued a warning to pupils writing the NSC: “When you cheat, you undermine your own future”.
Image provided (Basic Education minister Siviwe Gwarube says law will take course on those implicated in exam paper leak).
