Matriculants across SA will have to rewrite the maths and physical sciences papers that were leaked in November, basic education minister Angie Motshekga said on Friday.

“The Council of Education Ministers (CENM) decided that a national rewrite of both maths paper 2 and physical sciences paper 2 is necessary. Maths paper 2 will be written on Tuesday December 15 at 2pm, and physical sciences paper 2 will be written on Thursday December 17 at 9am,” the minister said.

“It was not an easy decision to take but one which is necessary under the circumstances. We need to work hard to deal with the human factor in the examination system,” said Motshegka.

She said that the “viral spread of information on cyber networks made it virtually impossible to accurately identify the number of pupils that have had access to the leaked question papers”.

Motshekga said, after consultations, there was an agreement on the need to protect the integrity of the examination and to “expose the culprits who place the lives of our learners at risk”.

“The National Senior Certificate (NSC) is the flagship qualification relating to schooling. Credibility of the NSC examination is of paramount importance. Any lingering doubt relating to the credibility of the NSC examinations must be thoroughly investigated and addressed,” Motshekga said.

“Avoiding prior access to the question paper is what all security measures are directed towards.”(Text, excluding headline, courtesy BusinessDay SA)