Outcry over matric rewrite
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) is fighting the Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) decision to implement a rewrite of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) Mathematics and Physical Science second papers.
In a statement, Sadtu announced its intention to file an urgent court application to interdict the department’s decision.
The union has called the decision to institute a rewrite “unfair and premature” because the investigation into the leak has not yet been concluded, and only 200 out of the 390 0000 learners who wrote the paper had seen the leaked paper.
“Learners are being punished for something that is not of their making as only a few saw the paper,” the statement read.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said last week at a media briefing that the question papers had been leaked and an investigations task team was set up to determine the extent of the leak and whether a rewrite of the two papers was necessary.
“Some of the key findings are that the viral spread of information on the cyber networks made it virtually impossible to accurately identify the number of learners that have had access to the leaked question papers. We consulted key stakeholders on the matter; from school governing body associations, school principals association, three teacher unions and the quality assurance agency, UMALUSI. There was convergence on the need to protect the integrity of the examination and to expose the culprits who place the lives of our learners at risk,” said Mothsekga.
She said it was not an easy decision to make, but necessary under the circumstances.
“The National Senior Certificate (NSC) is the flagship qualification relating to schooling. Credibility of the NSC examination is of paramount importance. Any lingering doubt relating to the credibility of the NSC examinations must be thoroughly investigated and addressed. Avoiding prior access to the question paper is what all security measures are directed towards. Having considered all of these factors, the Council of Education Ministers (CEM) decided that a national rewrite of both Mathematics Paper 2 and Physical Sciences Paper 2 is necessary,” Motshekga said.
Heather Secondary matric learner, Kiara Pillay, said that although the dates set for the rewrite did infringe on her holiday plans, she remained optimistic that the rewrite will give her a second chance to do even better. “Mathematics Paper 2 went well for me, so I am confident that the rewrite will go smoothly, but I will still study to prepare for the rewrite as I want to use this as an opportunity to do even better,” she said.
Mathematics Paper 2 will be written on Tuesday, December 15 at 2pm and the Physical Sciences Paper 2 rewrite is scheduled for Thursday, December 17 at 9am.
Following leaks in National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination, the Department of Basic Education has decided that Mathematics Paper 2 and Physical Sciences Paper 2 should be rewritten.
Apart from the normal stressors of writing an examination, learners also had to contend with the challenges of Covid-19 and now this traumatic rewrite. This is so stressful and unfair for learners, teachers and parents trying to manage an atypical year.
The corrupt individual/s who leaked the papers behaved in a very irresponsible manner and should face the full sanctions of the law for their criminal actions.
South Africa’s main school-leaving examination, the NSC, is considered as the gateway to the broad world and is also used to identify learners who want to peruse tertiary study. Hence, Minister Of Basic Education Angie Motshekga and Umalusi took the correct decision even though not a very well-liked one in order not to compromise the exams and the results. Fairness and honesty are prerequisite for an examination to be regarded as credible.
In order to have the necessary skills for the different job opportunities, learners need to be well schooled, prepared and groomed.
Class of 2020, you are a special