Exam leaks must be stopped

THIS year's matric exams have been touted as the most ambitious administered in South Africa.

We have no doubt the Covid-19 pandemic added to the burden of the Class of 2020, particularly those in rural and township schools.

However there can be no justification for the leaking of exam papers as these actions could lead to a possible rewrite, to the disadvantage of the pupils who sacrificed and studied hard.

The maths paper 2 was the first reported to be leaked in Gauteng and Limpopo. The discovery was made after a university student helping Grade 12 pupils with their studies approached the department.

We soon learnt six more provinces were implicated, except Free State. Just over a week later, the physical science paper 2 was leaked.

A Gauteng resident running an NGO exposed the leak when he posted on social media copies of the paper doing rounds on WhatsApp.

There were also allegations that the maths paper 1 exam was leaked in KwaZulu-Natal.

We now hear the business economics paper may have been accessed by pupils before the exam, while Gauteng MEC Panyaza Lesufi confirmed that officials were probing the alleged leaking of the life science paper.

Despite these incidents, education officials have maintained that the integrity of the exams remains intact.

In all these incidents, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and her officials are found wanting. The possibility of more leaks cannot be ruled out.

Motshekga should take the country into her confidence when she addresses the matter this week.

She needs to tell us how this happened and how the department is going to prevent it from happening again.

In the meantime, we commend the Hawks for making a breakthrough in the leaking of the maths paper 2. Themba Daniel Shikwambana, an employee of a Johannesburg company contracted by the Department of Basic Education to print the matric exam papers, was arrested last week.

Though innocent until proven guilty, law enforcement agencies should not rest until all those who participated in these criminal activities are charged and prosecuted.

The future of our children should never be compromised.