Umalusi raises concerns over cheating irregularities
The regulatory body said these cases are not yet resolved because the numbers are still being verified.
Ahead of the release of the matric results on January 19, exams quality assurer Umalusi has raised concerns over the number of learners involved in group copying during the 2023 examinations.
This was revealed at a media briefing held in Pretoria.
According to the CEO of Umalusi, Dr Mafu Rakometsi, they detected cases of group copying involving 945 candidates who wrote the NSC examinations in 2023.
“Of this number, 763 cases (80.7%) cases were detected in KwaZulu-Natal and 164 (17.7%) in Mpumalanga. According to the report submitted, these are cases where the candidates displayed common answers and, in some cases, the same wrong and right answers. These cases are not yet resolved because the numbers are still being verified,” said Rakometsi.
He said some question papers had printing errors or poor print quality.
“There was an omission of a subscript on the formula of an organic compound in Physical Sciences paper two in Question 2.2. The Physical Sciences paper two in the North-West had missing grid lines in Question 3.5. The three Civil Technology specialisations (civil services, construction and woodworking) in the English and Afrikaans versions had major printing errors in Limpopo. The poor print quality in the Civil Services specialisation affected questions in the English version worth 60 marks and 62 in the Afrikaans version.”
Rakometsi said it is regrettable that question in the Mathematical Literacy paper one naively used the words “Mandatory Palestine”.
“This was caused by the examiners and moderators being unaware of the political connotations of the words. Umalusi appreciates that the Department of Basic Education (DBE) issued an apology in this regard.”
The CEO was also happy to report that all assessment bodies heeded the advice to make alternative arrangements for electricity during the writing of examinations to mitigate the effects of load-shedding.
“Regarding community protests, we have received no reports about serious cases of community protests that may have prevented candidates from writing the examinations. Umalusi appreciates the efforts of all four assessment bodies to ensure candidates were shielded from all forms of hindrances.
“That gives the assurance that there was no compromise to the 2023 end-of-year national examinations’ integrity and credibility,” said Rakometsi.
The exam quality assurer urged the public to visit the Umalusi website (www.umalusi.org.za) to access a list of all private institutions accredited to offer any Umalusi-associated qualification to avoid registering at unaccredited private centres or institutions.
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