Results of students implicated in matric exam leak released

The Department of Basic Education says the results of students implicated in the 2016 matric exam leak have been collected by the school.

Department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said New Era College collected the results on Wednesday afternoon.

He said, however, that the students found guilty of cheating would not get off scot-free. The investigation had reached a critical stage, he said.

"The results are interim, pending the finalisation of the hearings and certification of the hearings by Umalusi," said Mhlanga.

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The department was ordered to release the results by the Thohoyandou High Court.

Mhlanga said the department had found no legal avenue to stop the school from getting the results.

Paper accessed before exam

"There is currently no legal recourse for the department to take but to comply with the court ruling," he said.

"We do plan to follow due process in this matter and will continue to fight for the integrity of the examination system to the conclusion of this matter."

The case ended up in court after parents of New Era College pupils argued that the department, which initially did not release the results, was prejudicing their children.

In court papers, they demanded that the results of other subjects, which were not part of the cheating allegations, be released.

The alleged cheating at the college in Malamulele, Vhembe district, involved a mathematics second paper.

Some pupils were allegedly able to access the question paper before the day of the exam.

When the alleged leak of the paper surfaced, investigations revealed that the document was apparently shared on social media by pupils at New Era College.