Less than two weeks after the start of the 2020 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations, for which a record 1,058,699 candidates are registered, the department of basic education conceded that there had been several hurdles, including paper leaks, Covid-19 infections and protest action.
New Covid-19 infections every day forced pupils into isolation or left them having to write at alternative venues. In one instance in the Eastern Cape last week, 93 pupils tested positive for Covid-19.
In another incident, flagged by the department, two adults were caught red-handed entering exam rooms purporting to be registered pupils. One was arrested and another managed to flee.
Pupils enrolled for CAT (Computer Applications Technology) and IT (Information Technology) had to grapple with power cuts during their examinations in the Western Cape.
Protest action made it difficult for pupils to arrive on time for exams in Limpopo and Gauteng pupils had to grapple with transport problems due to a taxi strike.
This was revealed by Dr Rufus Poliah, chief director for national assessment and public examinations, on Wednesday. He was speaking alongside basic education minister Angie Motshekga during a briefing about the examinations.
Their biggest concern was the leaking of a mathematics question paper shortly before it was due to be written. It remained unclear how the leak occurred, but preliminary investigations revealed that the paper was obtained by pupils in eight provinces.
“I stand here with a deep sense of disappointment in terms of where we find ourselves,” said Poliah.
He said the department did everything “humanly possible” to ensure the credibility of the 2020 examinations, despite the challenges. “You can plan and put systems in place. However, one aspect you have no control over is the human element,” he said.
A task team was established to investigate the source of the leak and determine if a rewrite of the paper was necessary. Motshekga said it was unfortunate that pupils would suffer because of the scandal.
“The penalty for offences relating to examinations are very serious and it really hurts me when adults put children in this difficult situation, because children are not printers, are not in the system, but half the time they are the ones who suffer the most.
“The penalties are just too harsh, for young people, and we can't ease those penalties, because the integrity of the exam is very important,” she added.
Motshekga said the penalties included banning pupils from writing exams for three years.
One pupil was caught red-handed with answers to the leaked question paper on a cellphone. Motshekga said it was unfortunate that the pupil would be subjected to such a ban.
Several another pupils across the country allegedly sneaked cellphones into exam venues.
Poliah said another issue the department had to grapple with was the wrong question papers being distributed at some schools.
More than five pupils had “insisted” on writing their exams from their hospital beds, added Poliah. “I must say, the examination system is extremely accommodating, we even have pupils writing from prison,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Poliah said the department was hopeful the rest of the exams would run smoothly.
