A total of 26 matric learners have admitted to gaining prior access to examination question papers and marking guidelines, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) confirmed on Thursday.
The revelations follow the flagging of six suspicious scripts during the marking of the 2025 National Senior Certificate examinations.
Speaking at a media briefing in Cape Town, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube said the breach was first detected by highly trained markers who noticed similarities between learners’ answers and the official marking guidelines.
Unusual similarities in answers
“The Gauteng Department of Education alerted the national department to an unusual similarity between answers provided by candidates and the answer provided in the marking guideline for English Home Language Paper 2,” Gwarube said.
She explained that the discovery raised an immediate red flag. This triggered standard investigative protocols.
A preliminary investigation confirmed that an examination breach had occurred.
“The breach did not come through rumours. It was not discovered by chance. It was detected because markers, whose training includes investigative marking, are equipped to know the difference between authentic learner responses and content that should only be accessible to markers.”
Learners confessed
According to Gwarube, all 26 learners interviewed confessed to having had prior access to both the English Home Language Paper 2 question paper and its marking guidelines.
Investigators later determined that the leaked papers originated from within the DBE’s national office. Further investigations revealed that the breach extended beyond a single subject.
“Of the 162 papers that we set, seven papers were accessed prior to the examinations. These include English Home Language Papers 1, 2 and 3. Mathematics Papers 1 and 2, and Physical Science Papers 1 and 2. These papers were shared via a USB storage device. And the spread seems to be confined to seven schools in a specific area in Pretoria.”
The breach, she said, occurred in the offices where national question papers are set.
Suspect employee identified
One employee within the department has been identified as a primary suspect.
“The suspect involved is an employee of the department who has a child in Grade 12. Evidence suggests she received the question paper from another employee who works within the examination unit.”
Both employees suspected of involvement have been suspended and the department has opened a criminal case.
“We have reported the incident to SAPS for the criminal aspect of this case to be investigated,” Gwarube said.
A national investigative task team comprising an independent chairperson, Umalusi, Universities South Africa, SACE, DBE officials, a private forensic investigator and teacher unions will begin work within 24 hours to determine the full extent of the breach.
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