The Department of Basic Education has appealed a high court ruling that allows 448 Mpumalanga pupils accused of cheating to re-register to write their matric exams, potentially extending their two-year academic exclusion.
The appeal now risks pushing their re-registration into next year, prolonging the uncertainty for students.
Departmental spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga confirmed that it had appealed but the date for the hearing had yet to be set.
“The court provides the date and factors that determine this, including how congested the court roll is and the availability of judges. The date is not determined by the parties.”
He said the appeal involved the national and provincial departments of basic education as appellants.
The drama started two years ago
This ongoing legal battle dates back to the 2022 National Senior Certificate exams, when the department withheld the results for the 448 pupils, alleging that widespread cheating occurred at certain examination centres across Mpumalanga.
In his judgment, Mbombela High Court judge Henk Roelofse upheld the department’s findings, acknowledging that the pupils were indeed guilty of cheating. “I have no doubt that the learners have cheated and had deserved to be punished as they were,” Roelofse said.
However, Roelofse criticised the department’s approach, describing serious procedural errors in the way the pupils were notified and represented during disciplinary proceedings. He highlighted that “group form” hearings were conducted instead of individual sessions, undermining the students’ rights to fair treatment.
Department failed procedural fairness
“The department failed to follow the prescribed procedure and fairness in the process,”
he ruled.
He added that the mishandling of initial notifications meant that “all else further is tainted”, which constituted a breach of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act.
The court ordered the immediate release of the pupils’ results and gave them the green light to re-register for their exams. Roelofse underscored that while they deserved punishment, they were still entitled to fair administrative processes, which the department had failed to uphold.
Advocate DJ Sibuyi of Mthunzi Chambers, the pupils’ legal representative, expressed disappointment with the department’s decision to appeal, arguing that it continues to unfairly punish the pupils who are eager to move past this ordeal.
In a scathing letter to the department, Sibuyi demanded an expedited hearing to avoid further disruptions to the pupils’ education.
This is now a personal war
He argued that these legal manoeuvres have created a “long and hard two years” for the pupils and their families, calling the department’s actions “a personal war” that leaves the pupils as “shields in a bureaucratic battle”.
“This appeal is another tactic… to deplete the resources of the department at the expense of disadvantaged learners,” wrote Sibuyi.
He warned that if results are not released by next week, they will file an urgent court application to enforce the original judgment, with costs likely falling on the department.
