A security breach involving leaked National Senior Certificate exam papers and marking guidelines has been detected in Gauteng. The Department of Basic Education’s quality assurance system flagged irregularities, leading to the suspension of two staff members and a national investigation. Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has announced that pupils at seven schools in Pretoria had access to National Senior Certificate exam papers in three subjects before they were written.
Addressing the media in Cape Town on Thursday, she said the subjects were English Home Language (papers 1, 2, and 3), Mathematics (papers 1 and 2) and Physical Science (papers 1 and 2).Gwarube began by outlining South Africa’s multilayered, quality-controlled marking system, which she described as one of the core safeguards of the National Senior Certificate (NSC). The system includes the appointment of expert markers using strict criteria, the development of detailed marking guidelines, standardisation meetings across subjects, intensive training of markers, moderation and tight compliance with defined tolerance ranges to ensure consistency and accuracy in marking. “It is this robust system that enabled us to detect an anomaly in six scripts in Gauteng,” she said.
“Our well-trained markers were able to pick up an irregularity without delay and escalated the issue to the relevant officials. Markers, our first line of defence, their expertise is one of the greatest strengths of the system,” she said. Markers, trained in “investigative marking”, noticed that answers in certain English Home Language Paper 2 scripts bore an unusual resemblance to the official marking guideline.
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They escalated their concerns without delay, prompting the Gauteng Department of Education to alert the national department on 2 December. This immediately triggered standard protocols, including a preliminary investigation, which confirmed the breach in a small number of scripts. Gwarube stressed: “This detection demonstrates the influence of our system.
The breach did not come through rumours. It was discovered. It was detected because markers…
are equipped to know the difference between authentic learner responses and content that should only be accessible to markers.” The national Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the Gauteng Department of Education launched a joint investigation, interviewing 26 pupils linked to flagged scripts. These pupils admitted prior access to the English Home Language Paper 2 question paper and guideline, traced to the DBE offices. Further probing revealed the breach spanned seven of 162 papers: English Home Language papers 1, 2, and 3; Mathematics papers 1 and 2 and Physical Sciences papers 1 and 2.
Shared via USB, it appears confined to seven Pretoria schools. “Of the 162 papers that we had set, seven were accessed before the examination,” Gwarube said. “The breach occurred at the offices of the DBE, where question papers are set.” The suspect is a DBE employee with a Grade 12 child, who allegedly received papers from a colleague in the examinations unit.
Both have been suspended. A National Investigative Task Team (NITT) launched within 24 hours, chaired independently with exam quality assurer Umalusi, the University of South Africa, DBE officials, a forensic investigator and teacher unions. Their mandate is to confirm the source, verify localisation, identify affected pupils, safeguard NSC credibility and prevent recurrences.Priscilla Ogunbanjo, director of national assessment and public examinations, highlighted that the DBE will appoint an independent forensic investigator to support the process.
“This investigation must be independent, especially given the breach appears to have originated within the department,” she said. Tools include investigative marking audits, script verification, interviews, statistical analysis and performance comparisons for anomalies such as unexplained spikes.
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