Unisa under fire over leaked exam papers… again

Despite news that the University of South Africa (Unisa) had identified a possible culprit behind the ongoing scandal of leaked examination question papers, disgruntled students said they were still not convinced that things will get better.

The university had recently come under fire after experiencing yet another leakage of examination question papers for the second time this year, compromising numerous modules.

The first time was reportedly during its May/June examinations, forcing students to rewrite their exams a month later.

Responding to the scandal, the institution sent out a statement saying: “The university condemns in the strongest terms these acts of criminality which undermine the efforts of students and lecturers alike.

“The university wishes to assure all stakeholders that it takes this matter very seriously; and that its investigations into the leakages, conducted jointly with the South African Police Service (SAPS); were at an advanced stage and a breakthrough in this regard was imminent.”

It also added that an individual had been identified at the centre of the scandal and that the police were now on this suspect’s trail.

While the university promised to intensify measures to prevent the leakage from occurring again, students remain unconvinced that things will take a turn for the better.

Unhappy about having to rewrite his exams, student Lehlogonolo Mogale said the news had inconvenienced him and left him demotivated towards his now pending exam.

“After writing the exam they later told us that it has been leaked. We then have to write a sick test which is harder and inconveniencing because you have to take more leave days at work.”

He said despite giving the relevant proof to his employers, the inconvenience of having to put in leave again to write exams that have become more frequent with the leakage had left his employers complaining and thinking he was “making up stories” to get time off.

“I am not confident that things will change. I just want to find another institution to study in but I was told I have to finish what I’m doing at Unisa which is also a drag. The administrators and lecturers are also hard to get a hold of unless you personally go to campus. So it has not been a very nice experience at all.”

Another student, who requested to remain anonymous, also said she was not convinced that the exam leak problem would be fixed as it had been going on for as long as she can remember.

She said although she was slightly relieved that they had reportedly found the person responsible for the leaks, she asked: “Is it really only one person? They said they would get it under control for these final exams but it just seems like they have poor internal controls.”

She said she feared the leaks would have an impact on the quality of her qualification after graduating with her degree from the institution.

– jenniffero@citizen.co.za

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