Matric results: Umalusi should release reports of special teams investigating errors
The Democratic Alliance (DA) is greatly concerned about the inability of provincial departments of education in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga to complete the final accuracy checks of the forthcoming national senior certificate (NSC) results. While the capacity of the Department of Basic Education (DBE), Umalusi and some of the provincial education departments to do the job is beyond reproach, it has come to our attention that these three provinces lack the capacity to do the final stages of checking properly.
We call on Umalusi, the standards verification body responsible for the final verification of the results, to publicly release the reports of the special teams tasked to look for errors and correct them. The reports must detail the methods and scale of investigation pursued in each province.
On Friday, 30 December 2011, Umalusi will meet to approve the final NSC or Matric results for the class of 2011 before Minister Angie Motshekga releases the aggregate results on 4 January.
It is important to note that all nine provinces have the final opportunity to check the accuracy of their results over the next three days. Typically, special teams use a checking method that probes areas where mistakes are most easily made, finds errors and corrects them.
For example, foreign learners with certain language constraints are eligible for exemptions, as are special needs learners. There are also instances where learners who speak Nguni, Sotho or Venda languages as their first language are eligible for language compensation.
In their documentation, the DBE emphasises that the ‘results will be thoroughly checked by the DBE, provincial education departments and Umalusi.' Umalusi has the special responsibility of being the final verifier of the integrity of the results.
The DA therefore calls on Umalusi to make public the reports of the work of the special teams investigating errors. The reports must detail the methods used, the errors found and corrections made - anonymously of course - for every province.
Statement issued by Dr Wilmot James MP, DA Shadow Minister of Basic Education, December 27 2011
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