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Council of Education Ministers resolves for matrics not to rewrite leaked papers

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The Council of Education Ministers (CEM) has resolved that matriculants don’t rewrite the leaked Mathematics Paper 2 and Physical Science Paper 2, as per Friday’s court ruling.

The High Court in Pretoria overturned the Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) decision on the matter.

The South African Democratic Teacher’s Union (SADTU), lobby group AfriForum and independent learners had brought the urgent court application before the court.

The department had wanted matrics to write the papers to protect the integrity of the exams.

However, following a meeting with the country’s education MECs – it has now resolved to abide by the court’s decision.

“The CEM agreed that the class of 2020 has been confronted by many challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it would therefore be unfair to further subject the Class of 2020, their teachers and parents to further uncertainties and exacerbate the anxieties they currently face,” the council says in a statement.

However, the CEM plans on challenging some aspects of the ruling.

“Of major concern, the court did not address the crux of the matter, namely the credibility, integrity and fairness of the 2020 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination, taking into account the compromise of the 2020 exams, resulting from the leaks of the Mathematics Paper 2 and Physical Science Paper 2.”

It has also taken issue with the tone and language used by the judge in the matter.

The CEM has urged the DBE to continue investigations into the leak with urgency.

The papers at the centre of the controversy were meant to be written on December 15 and 17, respectively.

Sadtu’s Mugwena Maluleke weighs in on Friday’s court ruling:

The National Professional Teacher’s Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA) believes the department shouldn’t have made the rewrite decision based on incomplete information on the paper leaks.

 

 

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