Limpopo embroiled in another matric exam leak

POLOKWANE – Limpopo Province is embroiled in another exam paper leak scandal. On Tuesday, the Department of Basic Education confirmed it is investigating the origins of the leak of the mathematics paper two exam.

The paper was allegedly leaked in the early hours of Monday morning, before grade 12 learners could sit for the exam.

It is understood that the leaked material was shared on social media messaging platforms by learners in Gauteng and Limpopo. Basic Education Department spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga, said it is unclear which province the paper leaked from. “It looks like someone had a hard copy and took images, very clear images, and it was then shared from there. Other people received it via Whatsapp and it was shared among learners in Gauteng. It is clear that the other learners were in Limpopo. This does not mean though it leaked from Limpopo or from Gauteng, that is what we are trying to establish,” said Mhlanga.

He said it has sought the services of the Hawks to assist in arresting the culprits. “We are still in negotiations. There are chances that pupils can write another paper at a later stage. For now we are still investigating.”

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Limpopo said it was concerned about the leaked paper. “Reports that parts of the paper became available in Limpopo was confirmed when the leaked information was compared to the paper that was written at 09:00 on Monday. “The DA is concerned that the lack of appropriate security measures implemented by the Limpopo Department of Education has compromised the integrity of the 2020 exams. “This is particularly tragic after the very difficult school year experienced by our learners in the Covid-19 lockdown. We call on MEC Polly Boshielo to be transparent and to table a concise report on the findings of the investigation into the leaks to the portfolio committee for education,” said DA’s Limpopo leader, Jacques Smalle. During the 2015 matric finals the life science paper 2 was leaked.