A “significant number” of matriculants have admitted that invigilators and teachers helped them cheat in last year’s final exams, the Department of Basic Education said yesterday.

In January, multiple pupils gave suspiciously similar answers (complete with identical spelling errors) at 58 examination centres in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

It was claimed that invigilators, including teachers and headmasters, had read out answers at the front of the exam venues for pupils to write down.

Spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said yesterday that the department had completed its investigation at half of the regions in the Eastern Cape.

“We have received confessions from a significant number of learners, who have indicated that they were assisted by adults invigilating or by their teachers and principals.”

The disciplinary hearings are expected to be finalised next week.

Source: timeslive.co.za