Umalusi has reassured the public that the integrity of the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) results is intact, despite a confirmed leak affecting 40 learners across three subjects.
Umalusi [Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training in South Africa] CEO, Dr Mafu Rakometsi, said following extensive quality assurance processes and an independent investigation, the quality council can assure South Africans that they can trust that the results reflect learners’ genuine performance.
“We want to assure the public that the breach was localised and therefore cannot dent the overall credibility of the 2025 NSC results,” Rakometsi said on Friday.
Rakometsi addressed the media regarding the exams conducted by the Department of Basic Education (DBE), the Independent Examinations Board (IEB), the South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute (SACAI), and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET).
The CEO outlined the comprehensive quality assurance framework applied to all examinations it oversees.
This involves moderating question papers and school assessments, auditing examination readiness, monitoring writing at selected centres, participating in marking discussions, verifying marking quality in certain subjects, and standardising marks across over 300 subjects.
Rakometsi said the Assessment Standards Committee (ASC) of Umalusi standardised the 2025 external examination results between 18 December 2025 and 5 January 2026.
“The 15-member committee spent considerable time carefully analysing numerical data and narrative reports to arrive at standardisation decisions by way of consensus for each one of the over 300 subjects presented,” the CEO explained.
In addition, observers from 11 national and international organisations also scrutinised the process.
Their message, Umalusi reported, was that while systems differ, “the quality assurance processes converge around the need to ensure the highest credibility and integrity of the certificates issued.”
Exam leaks
On 11 December 2025, the Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, informed the nation of a breach involving mathematics Papers 1 and 2, physical sciences Papers 1 and 2, and English home language Papers 1 to 3.
A National Investigation Task Team (NITT) of nine members, with Umalusi as observer, was appointed to investigate.
The NITT’s report was presented to Umalusi’s Executive Committee on 6 January 2026.
“The overall conclusion of the investigation is that the leak was limited to the three subjects or seven papers... and that the leak was contained to around 40 candidates in seven examination centres in the Pretoria area,” Rakometsi said.
“While the number of implicated learners currently stands at around 40, there will be consequences for anyone who is not included in the number now, should they be discovered later.”
The CEO commended the Department of Basic Education (DBE) for its quick action but expressed concern over ongoing irregularities like group copying, highlighting that some provinces frequently appear in reports of these issues.
He called on provincial departments and private assessment bodies “to tighten their systems to protect the overall credibility of the examinations”.
Umalusi reminded learners that the law empowers it to cancel certificates if irregularities are discovered later.
“If you cheated in this examination and you are found out later, you will have to return the certificate, failing which you will be imprisoned,” said Rakometsi.
The council condemned practices like gatekeeping, which prevent learners from writing certain subjects so that schools can improve pass rates. He praised interventions by the DBE to curtail this.
Social ills
Umalusi expressed regret that some candidates fell victim to social ills, such as rape and robbery, during the examination period.
It urged community members and relevant authorities to support all victims in whatever way possible.
Umalusi chairperson, Professor Yunus Ballim, has approved the release of the 2025 end-of-year exam results, stating there were “no systemic irregularities” affecting exam integrity.
Over one million candidates sat for exams in more than 300 subjects at approximately 9 400 centres, with the NSC accounting for 90.3% of those, or around 927 000 candidates.
Ballim noted a high acceptance of raw marks, indicating a stable system.
“When we accept a larger proportion of raw results, that points to a system that is settled, doing reasonably well.”
In a heartfelt message to the Class of 2025, the Professor acknowledged all participants in a “large and complex” system that meticulously processes over a million scripts, ensuring the integrity of the process is maintained.
He also took the time to encourage those who failed and pleaded with them not to give up.
“Work harder, and you will do better in this year’s examinations.” – SAnews.gov.za
