The Department of Basic Education has reaffirmed the integrity and governance of the state national senior certificate examination system.
This as it noted with serious concern, unfounded statements relating to the identification of a limited examination breach during the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations.
“While the Department of Basic Education (DBE) unequivocally condemns any breach of examination integrity, it is both inaccurate and analytically unsound to suggest that the integrity of the NSC is fundamentally compromised or that independent examination bodies are inherently more secure,” it said.
This as the Freedom Front Plus bemoaned the fact that departmental officials have been implicated in leaking matric exam papers, saying this erodes confidence in the public education system.
READ | Two officials suspended over matric exam paper leaks
In its statement on Sunday, the DBE said any compromise of examination integrity is unacceptable, regardless of its scale or origin.
“The DBE does not minimise such incidents. On the contrary, the department acted decisively, transparently, and in accordance with the law by publicly acknowledging the breach, instituting a National Investigation Task Team, suspending implicated officials, and initiating criminal and disciplinary processes. These actions reflect institutional accountability and systemic resilience, not failure,” it explained.
The department said the detection of the irregularities itself demonstrates the robustness of its quality assurance and monitoring systems.
“The breach was identified through internal controls during the marking process, swiftly traced to its source, and isolated through established mechanisms. Credible examination systems are defined not by the absence of attempted breaches, but by the strength of their detection, response, and remediation frameworks. On this measure, South Africa’s NSC continues to meet national and international benchmarks.
“Assertions that examination irregularities are unique to the public examination system, or to the DBE specifically, reflect an uninformed, extremely narrow and parochial reading of national and global assessment systems.”
The department said international experience shows that no examination authority public or private is entirely insulated from human misconduct.
It further added that in South Africa, the DBE, the Independent Examinations Board (IEB), and the South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute (SACAI), work collaboratively through formal service-level agreements to ensure coherence, quality assurance and national benchmarking.
"This cooperation strengthens the credibility of the national examination ecosystem rather than fragmenting it," the department said.
The department said the NSC examination, as administered by the DBE, continues to underpin access to higher education, skills development and employment, and is widely trusted by universities and employers.
“The Department of Basic Education rejects the insinuation that the integrity of the National Senior Certificate is in terminal decline or that public schooling is structurally incapable of safeguarding assessment standards. Such claims are unsupported, selectively framed, and politically opportunistic.” The DBE’s Director-General Mathanzima Mweli said.
The DBE is set to release the 2025 Matric Results on 12 January 2026. - SAnews.gov.za
