Umalusi assures the Class of 2025, their families and higher education institutions that investigations into reported exam irregularities will not delay the results of unaffected matric pupils. The exam quality assurer was responding to revelation of irregularities in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) final examinations. The affected subjects include mathematics, physical sciences, and English home language.
These issues were identified during the marking process. Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube confirmed on Thursday morning that officials detected a breach in Gauteng during exam marking. Markers flagged similarities between a pupil’s English home language paper 2 answers and the marking guide.
This prompted a broader investigation. English home language paper 2 focuses on literature, divided into three sections: Poetry (prescribed poems and unseen), novels, and drama. It requires both an essay and a contextual analysis of the set texts studied during the year.
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Gwarube said that at least 26 matriculants from seven schools in Pretoria admitted to accessing leaked question papers and marking guidelines before their exams. The admissions formed part of the department’s ongoing investigation. The leaked subjects include English home language papers 1-3, mathematics papers 1-2, and physical sciences papers 1-2.
All were shared via a USB device. Umalusi said it received a preliminary report on Wednesday from the department of basic education (DBE) on the issues reported by the minister. It will continue analysing the findings.
“Having studied the report, Umalusi is satisfied with the steps taken by the DBE thus far, including reporting the case to the Saps,” it said. “Similarly, Umalusi is pleased by the ongoing investigative work aimed at determining the magnitude of the irregularities.” A national task team will begin a formal investigation on Friday, 12 December. It expects to finalise its findings before results are approved on 12 January 2026.
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