Motshekga fumes as another matric paper is leaked

Despite the Hawks being called in to probe the leak of the Mathematics Paper 2 last week, the Physical Sciences Paper 2 was also leaked and circulated before the exam started on Monday morning.

The Council of Education Ministers (CEM) held an urgent meeting this afternoon to consider the implications of the latest developments.

“The reported leak of Physics 2 come after the department asked the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations, better known as the Hawks, to investigate an earlier incident involving Maths last week, the Department of Basic Education said in a statement on Monday night.

“The investigations are at an advanced stage and details on the progress of the probe will be made public at the right time while areas of possible weakness have been identified.

“In addition to this the department has also dispatched teams to provinces to re-check the security systems. The CEM expressed concern that the leaks were causing disruptions to a system which already experienced challenges due to COVID-19.”

ALSO READ: Hawks, Basic Education probing maths paper leak, says Motshekga

“It is unfortunate that people continue to be involved in something like this even though the consequences can be dire. We condemn in the strongest terms the conduct of persons who undermine the integrity of the examination because it causes untold stress on the learners who are looking forward to exiting the schooling system with a pass from an honest examination, not one associated with cheating,” said Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga.

CEM considered several options that are meant to further protect the exams but for security reasons these would not be divulged, the statement said.

“We want to reassure the public that we are hard at work to ensure that we protect the examinations. The Hawks have been helpful in working with us and there are encouraging developments coming from their side,” said Motshekga.

“The DBE and provinces are continuing to work around the clock to implement the new measures that have been activated to protect the on-going examinations and also to hunt down the culprits.”

(Compiled by Carina Koen.)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.