The DBE has reaffirmed the integrity and governance of the NSC examination system following concerns raised over a limited examination breach during the 2025 matric exams.

The department said it noted with serious concern what it described as unfounded statements suggesting that the credibility of the NSC had been fundamentally undermined.

This follows criticism from the Freedom Front Plus, which claimed that the alleged involvement of departmental officials in leaking examination papers eroded confidence in the public education system.

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While unequivocally condemning any breach of examination integrity, the DBE said it was inaccurate and analytically unsound to conclude that the NSC system was compromised or that independent examination bodies were inherently more secure.

“Any compromise of examination integrity is unacceptable, regardless of its scale or origin,” the department said in a statement on Sunday, January 4.

The DBE stressed that it had acted decisively and transparently by publicly acknowledging the breach, establishing a National Investigation Task Team, suspending implicated officials, and initiating criminal and disciplinary processes.

“These actions reflect institutional accountability and systemic resilience, not failure,” the statement read.

According to the DBE, the identification of the irregularities during the marking process demonstrates the robustness of its quality assurance and monitoring systems.

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The breach was detected through internal controls, traced to its source and isolated using established mechanisms.

“Credible examination systems are defined not by the absence of attempted breaches, but by the strength of their detection, response and remediation frameworks. On this measure, South Africa’s NSC continues to meet national and international benchmarks.”

The DBE added that international experience shows no examination authority, whether public or private, is entirely immune to human misconduct.

In South Africa, it said, the DBE works closely with the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) and the South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute (SACAI) through formal service-level agreements to ensure coherence, quality assurance and national benchmarking.

“This co-operation strengthens the credibility of the national examination ecosystem rather than fragmenting it,” the department said.

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DBE Director-General Mathanzima Mweli rejected claims that the integrity of the NSC was in decline or that public schooling was incapable of safeguarding assessment standards, describing such assertions as unsupported and politically opportunistic.

The department confirmed that the 2025 matric results will be released on January 12.