Some pupils may not be getting their matric results when they are released next week due to anomalies in their Centres.
Image: SABC.

The Department of Basic Education has announced that the Public schools’ matric examinations will be released on Tuesday next week. This would cover the majority of the schools under the public system while about 2% of the schools, particularly in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal will not be getting their results because of some anomalies that had been observed in their examinations.

Professor John Volmink, chairman of the Umalusi Council, an education monitoring body, told reporters in Pretoria on Tuesday that the schools that would not be getting their results are those from the fifty eight centers in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, where evidence had been obtained of cheating in what he referred to as ‘group copying’. Volmink also revealed that in the Eastern Cape, there were 19 centers that were seen to be cheating while the KwaZulu-Natal had the lion’s share with 39 centers. He announced that this did not compromise the credibility of the examination itself as the cheating schools only formed two percent of the schools in the provinces. He however said that there would be extensive investigations into the scandal in order to establish the culprits as well as the extent of the scourge.

When quizzed on how the irregularities had been discovered, Umalusi Chief Executive Officer, Mafu Rakometsi had this to say: “These problems were detected at the marking centres. The students are providing the same answers, the same right answers, the same wrong answers. It is clear that there is sharing of notes, it is clear that there is dictation.” Rakometsi added that Umalusi had been informed by the Department that investigations into the cheating would be completed in March and “drastic” measures would then be initiated.