Umalusi issues stern warning on cheating during matric exams
Education quality assurance body Umalusi has issued a stern warning to matric candidates and matric teachers not to cheat during the upcoming final exams.
The quality assurance body's CEO, Mafu Rakometsi, addressed the media on its readiness for the 2024 exams on Friday morning.
"We would like to issue a stern warning to all learners and teachers alike to refrain from involvement in all forms of cheating during the examinations,” Rakometsi said.
“Umalusi berates and condemns this criminal practice with the contempt it deserves. Cheating compromises the integrity of our national examination system, which we are mandated to jealously protect as a quality council, and I'm referring here to Umalusi that cheating does not pay found support in the judgment of the Mpumalanga division of the High Court."
His warning follows the Mpumalanga class of 2022 cheating scandal, which led to the department withholding the results of more than 400 matriculates.
The matric class of 2024 is expected to commence with their exams in a week’s time.
More than 700,000 full-time candidates will sit for the exams, while over 136,000 part-time candidates are expected to sit across 7,000 exam centres.
Ramoketsi said the council is hard at work to ensure that there is an elimination of errors in question papers.
Last year there was an omission of a subscript on the formula of an organic compound in Physical Sciences Paper 2, while the Physical Sciences Paper 2 in the North West had missing grid lines, and three Civil Technology specialisations in both the English and Afrikaans versions had major printing errors in Limpopo.
"To tighten our oversight role as a quality council, Umalusi has intensified training of all our external moderators. In addition, we had focused training sessions with the external moderators responsible for subjects that have caused public debates in the past,” Rakometsi said.
"The Umalusi external moderators are obliged to conduct thorough proofreading of the papers before approving them, ensuring that all aspects are error-free and aligned with the examination standards. Umalusi stand is that there should be no error in the question papers."
Rakometsi also confirmed that investigations had been completed into the cheating incidents during the 2023 examinations.
"Based on the findings, the results of the candidates found guilty have been nullified, and the candidates have been barred from one to three examination settings depending on the severity of each case."
He further discourages communities from using the examinations as leverage for any form of protest action.
"It is the duty of every South African to protect the education of our children. We will deploy officials to monitor the conduct of examinations to ensure full compliance with the relevant regulations. We appeal to parents, guardians, teachers and every other stakeholder to provide the necessary support to all the candidates during this critical period of their educational journey and to do everything humanly possible to ensure that no candidate is unduly disadvantaged.
"We appeal to all South Africans to support these important examinations. That is our appeal. Umalusi wishes the class of 2024 all the best of determination as they enter the final lap of their journey in the general and further education and training system of our country."
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