Hawks and DBE looking for the source of the exam leak



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By Tebogo Monama Article publication time 13h ago

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Johannesburg – The Department of Basic Education is on the hunt for the source of the Math Matrix Paper 2 leak that has affected eight provinces.

The department said officials became aware of the leak when a Gauteng college student helping tuition candidates prepare for exams sent the document to spokesman Elijah Mhlanga at 1.37 a.m. Monday, a few hours before it began. the evaluation. The student had received the article from the students he mentors and they wanted help on how to answer some questions.

At first, the leak was believed to be limited to Limpopo and Gauteng, but so far all provinces except Free State have confirmed that some students had access to the questionnaire.

The candidates are believed to have been part of the WhatsApp groups through which the document was distributed. The chief director of national assessments, Dr. Rufus Poliah, said yesterday that in some schools, students had informed their principals of the leak before the exam.

Poliah said: “We are dealing with electronic distribution, and this means that a WhatsApp surface does not make it the source of the leak. We can confirm at this point that there are groups of students who are part of social network groups that have had access to the questionnaire in eight of the nine provinces.

“We are going to request the expertise of a forensic IT company to trace the origin of WhatsApps. We will audit the selected test sites because the questions appeared on WhatsApp but originated from a storage or distribution point. “

Poliah said the National Examination Irregularity Committee had begun investigating the leak and its scope.

The team is expected to release its first report by November 30 in case the leak is extensive and candidates have to rewrite the exam. Your final report will be completed on January 30.

Some of the ways the department is going to try to catch cheating students include using research auditors when scoring exams to try to see which candidates might have had access to the job.

Statistical analysis will also be used to see discrepancies in candidates’ scores on exams 1 and 2 assessments and their preparatory exam results.

Investigators will also look at the credibility of the exam in light of the leak and what improvements can be made to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said they were disappointed and embarrassed by the leak.

He said the problem was no longer an educational problem but a police issue. The Hawks are investigating and candidates who cheated could be banned from writing matricula for three years, in addition to facing criminal charges.

The star



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