Umalusi concerned about cases of unauthorised, early access to exam papers

Quality Assurance Council ( Umalusi ) says it is concerned about cases of unauthorised and early access to examination question papers. These irregularities were detected at some of the examination centres in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Umalusi, Dr Mafu Rakometsi says the Life Sciences and Agricultural Sciences papers were the affected subjects in those centres.

Rakometsi says this practice can potentially compromise the integrity of examinations if not addressed decisively.

“Regrettably, Umalusi has learnt of a new disturbing trend in which learners are given early access to question papers a few hours before they write. This has been detected in a few centres in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. We are not able to provide further details with regards to this irregularity as investigations are still going on. According to examination guidelines, examination papers can only be opened in the examination room, 30 minutes before the commencement of the examination.”

The quality assurer has approved the release of the 2021 national examinations results. Briefing the media, Rakometsi says COVID-19 posed a number of challenges.

He says this is not just the case in monitoring and evaluating the 2021 examination, but for Grade 12 learners as well.

“ The class of 2021 was subjected to the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic for two consecutive years. This entailed amongst other things, hybrid modes of teaching and learning such as online and rotational classes. The class of 2021 was also the second Grade 12 cohort to be assessed under stringent health and safety conditions necessitated by the lockdown conditions.”

Umalusi briefing on the 2021 matric results: