ANC wants Eastern Cape cheating probe finished quickly

The Eastern Cape ANC on Tuesday called for the probe into cheating during the 2014 matric exams to be concluded swiftly.

"We urgently call upon the investigation taking place to speed up and be finished, the sooner the better.. for those affected learners in order to be integrated in the results so they are not victims of being unable to look for schools and financial assistance," ANC provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane said in a statement.

Announcing the results on Monday, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said 16 matric exam centres in the province were under investigation for alleged group copying.

The Eastern Cape had three schools with a zero percent pass rate and was again the country's poorest performing province, with a pass rate of 65.4 percent.

The provincial African National Congress congratulated the province on improving its pass rate by 0.5 percent, from 64.9 percent in 2013.

"We are impressed by the improvement although we did not reach our target of 70 percent," Mabuyane said.

The party acknowledged improvements in subjects like maths and science, and welcomed the fact that an Eastern Cape pupil won two awards.

Rohin Jain from East London's Selborne College Boys High was the country's top achiever in mathematics and in combined mathematics and physical sciences. He placed second in physical science countrywide.