Pietermaritzburg - The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education is making efforts to ensure that the provincial matric results are available by the end of the month.
The department said on Wednesday that its investigation into some 1500 cases of irregularities, which started on 5 January, should be finalised by 30 January 2009.
Irregularities include allegations of cheating, the use of crib notes by pupils and technical irregularities.
On 5 and 6 January 2009, the department invited candidates involved in group cheating to come forward and give evidence and written statements in their districts.
Candidates who were found with crib notes at examination centres were invited to district offices for investigation and to make written statements on Thursday.
The department is in the process of releasing the results of more than 1000 candidates involved in the technical irregularities.
Technical irregularities include candidates who wrote examinations for subjects for which they had not registered, such as writing Mathematical Literacy instead of Mathematics.
"We also have candidates who did not write examination numbers in their scripts, some wrote cell phone numbers and we are investigating these cases. There are also candidates who failed to produce proof that they had registered to write to exam but demanded to sit for the examination," the department said.
The department will run interviews on 12 to 21 January 2009 with chief invigilators of exam centres, where groups were found copying from each other. A final decision will be made during the Provincial Examinations Irregularities Committee meeting to be held on 26 January 2009.
"It is a requirement of Umalusi that these cases be dealt with on a case -by -case bases, the finalisation of this process also depends greatly on the full co-operation from candidates," the department said.
The province achieved a pass rate of 57.8 percent during 2008, matric exams. Out of 136 796 matriculants, who sat for the exams, a total of 79 068 candidates passed their examinations with a total of 18.4 percent achieved university endorsements.
Last year, 589 912 candidates, nationally wrote the examinations under the new National Curriculum Statement (NCS)
Announcing the results on 30 December, Education Minister Naledi Pandor said 56 810 candidates had incomplete results due to outstanding internal marks, oral or practical requirements or pending irregularity investigations.
