The release of the November 2023 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations in South Africa has been marred by several challenges.
A look at the main things that went wrong, highlights the holes in an education system that should be ironclad.
From copying scandals to countless errors by the Department of Basic Education, the 2023 matric final exams were coloured by challenges.
Group copying scandal in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga
945 National Senior Certificate candidates were involved in group copying. This has raised concerns about the restriction and protection the exam moderators place. Sunday World reported that there were 763 cases of cheating in KwaZulu-Natal and an additional 164 cases in Mpumalanga.
Professor Yunus Ballim hinted at the possibility of staff members being involved, which has only added to the criticism aimed at the integrity of the exams.
Department of Higher Education allegedly involved in fake certificate trade
Sunday World reported that in 2023, 11 suspects were arrested for the illegal sale of fake certificates, this includes an official from the Department of Higher Education.
The arrests span various locations and highlight the pervasive nature of fraudulent activities that slip into the system and undermine the credibility of the institute.
Limpopo matriculants’ exams had printing mistakes
Printing errors, poor print quality, and translation should be nearly improbable possibilities considering the stakes of the exams. But alas, the issues persisted, plaguing the examination process and adding a layer of stress. From missing grid lines in a North West paper to major printing errors affecting questions in Limpopo.
These issues had a direct impact on candidates. as some students were examined on material without warning. While measures were taken to mitigate the impact on performance. it underscores the need for stringent measures to prevent such errors in the future.
Matriculants get exams with cultural and political errors
in addition, the exams were marred by cultural and political errors, including a printing error affecting a question in Physical Sciences Paper 2 and poor translation quality in the Afrikaans version of Geography Paper 1.
These errors not only affected candidates’ performance but also raised questions about the quality assurance processes in place.