Note to editors: Please find attached soundbite by Baxolile ‘Bax’ Nodada MP.
The DA welcomes the Department of Basic Education’s swift investigation into the matric exam cheating scandal that has been widely reported by the media. We call on the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, to ensure that the investigation is concluded before the announcement of the matric results on 19 January 2023.
We will write to the chair of the parliamentary portfolio committee on basic education, Bongiwe Pricilla Mbinqo-Gigaba, to summon the Minster to Parliament at the first opportunity to brief the committee on the consequence management against the implicated personnel, as well as how the examination protocols were breached in the first place. It is crucial that the guilty teachers face strong consequences to dissuade other teachers from facilitating cheating and ensuring that the quality of future matric examinations are not called into question.
The DA has been calling for an independent school monitoring evaluation authority to evaluate and monitor teachers, and this scandal has shown the necessity of such an organisation.
It is extremely unfortunate that the learners and teachers involved in cheating have put a blight on the efforts of those diligent and hard-working learners and teachers. The past two years have challenged our learners in various ways, and while most teachers have tried their best to rise to the equation, it seems that others have failed to fully prepare their learners for the matric exam. The majority of learners would not need to look for ways to cheat if they feel confident in the material they learned.
South Africa needs quality teachers to ensure that learners entering the workforce and tertiary institutions for learning are well equipped and won’t join the growing unemployment lines.