Thousands of matriculants are currently sitting for their National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations.
The Gauteng Education Department (GDE) has dismissed claims that the integrity and security of the matric exams are at risk and are compromised following allegations of widespread corruption in the province’s school security tenders.
This comes as thousands of matriculants sit for their National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations.
Report
According to the report, information allegedly obtained by the DA from a whistleblower indicates that senior officials in the Gauteng education department are accused of engaging in systemic corruption concerning the awarding of security tenders for the protection of matriculation exam papers.
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According to the whistleblower, the Gauteng education department preselected certain companies to receive tenders in exchange for kickbacks ranging from 10% to 20%.
‘Misleading’
GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona said they “reject the misleading and sensationalist article published online on Wednesday, 12 November 2025, with the headline “Matric exams at risk amid alleged Gauteng school security tender corruption – DA”.
“This unfortunate article, which appears to rely solely on a statement issued by the Democratic Alliance, irresponsibly questions the integrity of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations in the province.
“This is a clear and disturbing indication that the DA’s obsession and concerted efforts to assassinate Premier Lesufi’s character have gone astray, desperately searching for any opportunity to portray the Premier in a negative light,” Mabona said.
‘Concerning’
Mabona added that it is “deeply concerning” that the “sensational claims” were published without any credible evidence.
“According to information at our disposal, since the commencement of the NSC examinations, there has been no record of any breach in security that could compromise the integrity or facilitation of the NSC examination process in Gauteng. We can confirm that all storage and distribution points have been allocated adequate security in line with norms and standards.
“Furthermore, no question papers or scripts have been reported to be compromised. All papers are handled exclusively by GDE Examination officials, not by any external service providers,” Mabona said.
Verification
Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane said information about the matric exams must be verified before it is shared.
“It is therefore unfortunate and irresponsible for anyone to opportunistically share information that questions the integrity of the NSC examinations without any basis.”
The GDE has condemned the circulation of unverified information during a critical examination period.
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