Government considering East Cape suggestion to halt cheating in exams

NATIONAL officials are considering a proposal made by Eastern Cape Education MEC Mandla Makupula to swap teachers invigilating matric exams at schools.

The move comes amid discussions to curb copying after pupils from the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal were suspected of cheating at several exam centres last year.

Only 47 days remain before the start of the final exams and already more than 900 00 matriculants have registered .

Department of Basic Education spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said: “The [national] department is exploring various models that could be used to strengthen the credibility of exams.

“In the last exam, we established that invigilators in these schools orchestrated irregularities and hence there is an element of concern relating to the use of invigilators from the same school at which they serve as educators,” Mhlanga said.

“Educators have a vested interest in the school results and therefore it makes sense to consider the use of invigilators from another school, who would bring a degree of independence to the process.”

Mhlanga said Makupula had presented the proposal at a meeting of the Council of Education Ministers.

The national department would now explore this proposal extensively and consult with unions before a decision was made, Mhlanga said.

Makupula gave more details at a briefing in East London on the state of readiness of his department for matric exams.

“I was asking why the department does not go back to a system where a teacher from another school will invigilate at other schools.”

He pledged to root out any form of copying.

“We had not had this for more than a decade,” he said

“Last year was the first time we had such an incident . . . We don’t condone such activities.”