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- Only the Free State has not received a report of the leak at this stage.
- The department says it will use the Hawks and IT experts in its investigation.
- Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said it would only be rewritten if the department and Umalusi felt the integrity of the exam was compromised.
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) says it is still too early to tell if the National Senior Certificate and Senior Certificate Mathematics Paper 2 exam will be rewritten after their leak.
The DBE has established a three-tiered investigation to trace the source of the leak of Monday’s question paper, the department revealed Wednesday.
READ | MomTric Exam Leak: Hawks Joined As Preliminary Investigation Shows More Provinces Affected
Minister Angie Motshegka briefed the media along with Director General Mathanzima Mweli and Chief Director of National Assessment and Public Examinations Rufus Poliah following a meeting with the Council of Education Ministers (CEM) on Wednesday.
Tip-off led to discovery
The department said it learned of the leak after its spokesman, Elijah Mhlanga, received an email with the attachment from a university student in Johannesburg who runs an NGO that provides support to school-age children.
The student received the questionnaire from four students who needed help and sent it to Mhlanga after being suspicious.
The document was also disseminated in some WhatsApp groups in which the enrollment candidates were to support each other.
The department said initial reports showed the paper had appeared in Limpopo and Gauteng, but it was later established that other provinces were also affected.
Motshekga said eight of the nine provinces reported a possible spread of the leak, with Free State being the only province that had not yet received a report.
How the investigation will work
The research will be conducted by a team comprised of the quality assurance council, Umalusi, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), Universities South Africa (USAf) and the department. The team will be appointed by the CEO.
Motshekga said the department was very disappointed in the developments after the department worked hard to make sure they went ahead.
Introducing the investigation protocols on Wednesday, Poliah said that the first phase of the investigation should be completed by November 30, and the second phase by January 30, 2021.
The investigation team would be tasked with establishing the source and scope of the leak, making recommendations to ensure that the credibility of the reviews is not compromised, and making recommendations on how the system could be improved to prevent future leaks.
The department said the investigation would establish whether the leak was contained in certain areas of the provinces and, when necessary, a new wording would be provided.
Poliah said:
Motshekga said eight of the nine provinces reported a possible spread of the leak, with Free State being the only province that had not yet received a report.
Umalusi would have to make a final determination that, despite the leak, the exam was not compromised and the measures implemented have restored the credibility of the math work.
Level two of the investigation would involve using the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) to help identify the source of the leak.
Experts and IT
Experts would also be hired to carry out a comprehensive forensic audit of the examination systems in the provinces and establish where the deficiencies were.
The investigation team would also conduct interviews with some candidates whose names and contact details appeared on the WhatsApp message chain.
An IT forensic firm would also be contacted for expert advice and assistance on tracking WhatsApp messages and selected suspicious examination centers would also be audited.
Poliah said that despite the research methods in place, the department would also be conducting a research audit during qualification and the performance of candidates on math jobs 1 and 2 would be compared.
“We will also do a comparative statistical analysis of the results of our preparatory exams with the final results, to identify possible groups in terms of schools where the performance can be extremely high,” he said.
The department said it will also seek other options to wrap up the matter and ensure the credibility of the affected document is restored, including an appeal to all candidates to come forward if they may have had access to the document.
It would also be attractive for officials to help with any information they may have.
“I think we will not skimp on the penalty in terms of the culprits in this matter because if one has an idea of the psychological trauma that has now been presented to our students, then one must agree that we must take serious action against the culprits. Simply put, if there is a need for an evidence-based rewrite, and we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, it is purely dependent on what comes out of the research and what the nature of the rewrite will be, “he said.
Motshekga added:
In terms of a rewrite, honestly, that will be the last most desperate option. We will only do a rewrite if we believe that the integrity of the exams is compromised because we cannot compromise the integrity of the exams either.
Motshekga said the department also wanted to protect those students who were not part of the WhatsApp groups where the document made its way and was disseminated, adding that the department, through its investigation, would also establish the time it was leaked. The document.
He said the forensic mark would indicate if there was any impact once the department established the time the document was leaked.
Secure the rest of the NSC exams
The department said it has since increased security where question papers were handled and stored. He said that all CCTV footage would be closely examined and the contract workers would also be closely supervised.
The department added that it would continue to implement its strong room double-locking system where questionnaires were stored and that it would increase the tracking, distribution and writing of exams in the future and in the future.
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