Search Page

An exam scandal has forced the provincial agriculture department to withhold bursaries. The irregularities have affected 38 schools and at least 2,000 exam papers.

An official in the Ministry of Higher Education, who was apprehended on suspicion of theft from a government safe, is still in police custody, while investigations involving about N$98,300, which disappeared from a government safe, could reveal other suspects.

Twenty-two teachers are involved in a multimillion-rand fraud. Provincial education department officials have taken advantage of an offer of amnesty in return for information on the ringleaders. All the teachers would face criminal charges as the amnesty was only for the departmental disciplinary process.

South Africa's Finance Minister has advocated an aid transparency initiative focused on monitoring aid flow and how the aid is managed. He underlined the importance that the huge volumes of aid that flows into Africa are adequately monitored and tracked. The minister welcomed the support of Sweden to help return monies stashed in European banks.

The firing of a teacher who helped expose the cheating in last year's matric exams shows that whistle-blowers' rights are badly protected. This despite the promise from the Education Minister to protect those who exposed the cheating. Seven months after the fraud in the Mpumalanga matric exams, the only person who has been penalised is one of the whistle-blowers.

The Mpumalanga education department has begun disciplinary hearings for 61 teachers accused of being involved in last year's matric exam cheating. Investigations revealed that candidates were assisted, possibly by teachers, in one or more subjects. Irregular practices took place at 10 of the province's Mpumalanga's 587 examination centres.

The National Anti-Corruption Forum (NACF), in a bid to combat corruption, has raised the importance of whistle blowing as part of the school curricula to create awareness amongst learners and teachers.