Pretoria - South Africa will this afternoon learn if matric learners will be forced to rewrite the leaked maths paper 2 and physical science paper 2 next week.
Judge Norman Davis, sitting at the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, after a marathon session of arguments yesterday afternoon, said it was a matter of importance and significant substance.
Under normal circumstances, he would need time to prepare his judgment. However, he said at the same time, it was a matter of urgency and he would try to deliver his judgment around 2pm today.
Judge Davis heard four sets of applications, all seeking the same order; that the rewrite of the exams be off the cards; that Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga be interdicted from going ahead with the rewrite and her decision be set aside.
Lobby group AfriForum, acting on behalf of five matrics, fired the first shot, represented by advocate Quintus Pelser.
He said the moment quality assurer Umalusi decided the exams had to be rewritten, the minister and the department simply gave in.
Pelser said Umalusi made its decision based on a preliminary and inconclusive report into the leakage of the exam papers. “The majority in the department was not in favour of a rewrite, but Umalusi found the integrity of both papers was compromised and a strong message had to be sent out, and closed their eyes to anything else."
Pelser questioned Umalusi's legal standing in interfering with the issue, and said the minister and the department simply could not stand up against the entity.
"Umalusi must tell the court if it has the right to interfere … it is telling the department what to do,“ he said.
“The minister was just a rubber stamp for what Umalusi decided; the department just froze when Umalusi spoke."
But advocate Dennis Fine, acting for Umalusi, said the entity could not give the go-ahead and release the results in February knowing the two papers had been compromised.
"The whole process had been contaminated," he said.
While Judge Davis pointed out that the investigation into the exam paper leakage had not yet been concluded and it seemed only a fraction of the learners were involved, Fine said since they did not know the extent of the leak, a rewrite was the only option.
Advocate Wisani Sibuyi, acting for the SA Democratic Teachers Union, argued that Motshekga and her department had enough time to stop the papers when they discovered the leakage.
"They were informed there was a leak … they could have replaced the paper or recalled the exam.”
Sibuyi argued it was irrational to punish thousands of learners for something when only a few were involved.
Another applicant Etienne Ferrreira argued the writing of the two papers would yet be another super spreader event for Covid-19. Having the last word before the day's proceedings wrapped up, he yet again said innocent children had to submit themselves to the Covid-19 risk to simply save the integrity of the exams. The affected learners asked the court to set aside the decision by Motshekga that they rewrite on Tuesday and Thursday next week.
Motshekga said she had consulted all relevant stakeholders on the issue, including Umalusi, and they all agreed that the integrity of the exams had to be protected.
To expose the culprits behind the exam paper leaks, Lienke Spies said the minister took a decision regarding the most important exam of their lives without consulting a single learner.
The exams started later than usual and Spies, together with other learners around the country, wrote their second maths papers on November 16, while the science paper was written on November 23. Two days after the maths exam was written the news about the leakage broke.
“We were totally unaware of the leakage and prepared for the exam as best as we could.”
She said in line with regulations, she and the other pupils had handed in all their textbooks of the subjects they had concluded; many had also destroyed their study notes.
Counsel acting for some pupils insisted a rewrite was total overkill.
A total of 391 000 learners sat for the maths paper 2, while 282 000 wrote the second paper of physical science. Only a handful of learners belonged to the WhatsApp group where the papers were leaked, she argued.
Pretoria News