East London-based education expert Dr Ken Alston called on the national Department of Basic Education to fail all matric pupils found guilty of being involved in a group cheating scandal.
The call comes as Minister Angie Motshekga is set to announce the 2014 matric results in Johannesburg at 6pm today.
“If kids are caught cheating you fail them, end of story. You have to because this is a national exam and the validity depends on honesty and so my view is if kids cheat ,” Alston said.
He said it appeared it was not only pupils involved in the cheating.
“I have not looked closely, but I suspect and I have a gut feeling that there seems to be more than the kids involved. If teachers are involved then they should be fired,” he said.
However, the Department of Basic Education yesterday declared the matric results “free, fair and credible”.
This is despite regulatory body Umalusi last week announcing that an investigation had uncovered “group copying” in two provinces.
Speaking to the Dispatch yesterday, national education spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said although cheating had been uncovered the department still considered the matric examination processes credible.
“Just because irregularities were uncovered in certain exam centres does not necessarily affect the credibility of all centres in the country,” Mhlanga said.
Alston said he was not sure if the province would record an increased pass rate compared with 2013 due to the cheating scandal.
“The credibility of the exam is at stake here. We have to be tough about this, otherwise who knows whose results are worth anything.
“For those who passed honestly, everybody is going to wonder who actually passed honestly or not.”
Motshekga is expected to provide more details on the cheating scandal during the announcement of the results. — siphem@dispatch.co.za
Call to fail matrics linked to group cheating in exam
The call comes as Minister Angie Motshekga is set to announce the 2014 matric results in Johannesburg at 6pm today.
“If kids are caught cheating you fail them, end of story. You have to because this is a national exam and the validity depends on honesty and so my view is if kids cheat ,” Alston said.
He said it appeared it was not only pupils involved in the cheating.
“I have not looked closely, but I suspect and I have a gut feeling that there seems to be more than the kids involved. If teachers are involved then they should be fired,” he said.
However, the Department of Basic Education yesterday declared the matric results “free, fair and credible”.
This is despite regulatory body Umalusi last week announcing that an investigation had uncovered “group copying” in two provinces.
Speaking to the Dispatch yesterday, national education spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said although cheating had been uncovered the department still considered the matric examination processes credible.
“Just because irregularities were uncovered in certain exam centres does not necessarily affect the credibility of all centres in the country,” Mhlanga said.
Alston said he was not sure if the province would record an increased pass rate compared with 2013 due to the cheating scandal.
“The credibility of the exam is at stake here. We have to be tough about this, otherwise who knows whose results are worth anything.
“For those who passed honestly, everybody is going to wonder who actually passed honestly or not.”
Motshekga is expected to provide more details on the cheating scandal during the announcement of the results. — siphem@dispatch.co.za
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