Matric results: Umalusi ‘deeply concerned’ about 945 group copying incidents

Quality assurer Umalusi is still deeply concerned about the detected cases of group copying involving 945 candidates who wrote the National Senior Certificate examinations in 2023, compared to the Independent Examinations Board’s (IEB) “small number of incidents that were negligible”.

Ahead of the release of the results this week, the department of basic education (DBE) and the release of matric results are still consumed by the “dismal” state of education in South Africa and annual irregularities and scandals during the examinations, while the IEB was commended for handling exams without serious scandals.

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Umalusi CEO Dr Mafu Rakometsi yesterday expressed continued concern around cases of group copying, fake certificates, fraudsters and question paper printing errors, after noting that of 945 cases, 763 (80.7%) were detected in KwaZulu-Natal and 164 (17.7%) in Mpumalanga. Rakometsi said 11 suspects were apprehended by the South African Police Service for their involvement in fraudulent activities related to exam certificates, “these [copying] cases are not yet resolved because the numbers are still being verified”.

“[However,] Umalusi is extremely encouraged by the fact that there were no detected cases of paper leakages.

The examinations have therefore not been compromised in terms of their credibility and integrity,” he said. More than 890 000 full-time and part-time candidates sat for the matric exams administered by DBE at the end of 2023, while 834 565 candidates, both fulltime and part-time, sat for the 2022 examinations.

Umalusi chair Prof Yunus Ballim said the DBE was required to block the results of all candidates implicated in irregularities, pending the outcome of the DBE investigations and verification by Umalusi.

He also said Umalusi commended the DBE for conducting a successful examination on such a large scale compared to previous years.

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“Umalusi is concerned about the recurring instances of printing and packaging errors in question papers and the ongoing practice of group copying,” Ballim said.

“Having studied all the evidence presented, Umalusi concluded that the examinations were administered largely in accordance with the regulations pertaining to the conduct, administration and management of the national senior certificate examinations.”

He said the irregularities identified during the writing and marking of the exams were not systemic and, therefore, did not compromise the overall credibility and integrity of the exams. Build One South Africa (Bosa) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) have been vocal about the “dismal” state of the education system, with Bosa acting spokesperson Roger Solomons saying the quality assurer remained silent on the elephant in the room – “that standards of basic education remain dismal as Angie Motshekga continues in her 15th consecutive year as minister of basic education.

“Today, eight out of every 10 children in South Africa cannot read for meaning by the age of 10. According to the progress in international reading literacy study, 78% of Grade 4 pupils in South Africa cannot read for meaning,” he said.

“Two out of 10 pupils drop out of school after Grade 3, four out of 10 after Grade 9, six out of 10 after Grade 10 and 7.3 after Grade 11.

“The underperformance of the government in addressing this widens the inequality gap in society and undermines the future of millions of young people.

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“We call for her immediate resignation and replacement with someone who believes in the talent of our youth; and who does the work to make this country globally competitive.”

DA MP Baxolile Nodada previously noted concerns around the state of education in SA and said: “You have thoroughly diagnosed the issues and they all still exist. That is why we are fighting to change this government.”