Exam leak: Learners forced into a gap year

TUYEIMO HAIDULA



OSHAKATI

The leak of 32 examination papers involving several grade 11 and 12 subjects has become a nightmare for prospective students, who will now be forced to take a gap year after losing their provisional placements at South African institutions because registration deadlines lapsed.

Most South African universities’ online prospectuses show that the schools have already closed for registration and their first-year undergraduates will be arriving in two weeks to start the academic year. In Namibia, exam papers were leaked last year and grade 11 learners have just completed rewriting. The grade 12s will start rewriting on 7 February.

The University of Namibia has postponed its deadlines to accommodate those who will be completing their grade 12 legacy certificate by 4 March, which will form part of late registration.

The undergraduate programme deadline is 25 February. This means those with the means can still study in Europe and the United States for August/September intakes, however, the rest will have to wait another year.

Namibian Sun understands the education minister plans to write a letter to South African universities to ask for a deadline extension so provisionally accepted learners still get a chance to register.

Don’t grant them bail

Meanwhile, Oshana education director Hileni Amukana on Friday testified in the Ondangwa Magistrate’s Court against the granting of bail for the suspects involved in the exam leak, saying the effect is too huge for them to “go and gallivant while the rest of us continue to suffer to avert the damage they have caused”.

The list of accused persons is long and continues to grow as the police widen their investigation net.

Two suspects who appeared in Ondangwa on Friday, Vapeinge Fransisco Pfidze and Ronny Rich Richard, said through their defence lawyer Anthony Shapumba of Shapumba and Associates that they deserve to be released on bail as they are not the original leakers or primary distributors of the leaked papers.

Amukana opposed the granting of bail and told magistrate Jozlene Klaazen that the leak was causing financial strain to so many educators, including herself.

She said the education ministry is also working around the clock to make sure that the affected learners still get a chance to register at institutions outside the country and it may be too late for some.

Costs add up

Amukana said government covered costs for public schools, including part-time and full-time candidates, but parents had to cough up to cover transport and accommodation for those not in hostels.

For private schools, parents paid for the revision of lessons.

Government has spent N$15 million so far as direct costs to rewrite the exams.

“This does not include hidden costs. Oshana alone spent N$200 000 and then an additional N$150 000. Hidden costs involve transport, delivery of question papers and collecting them. The markers need to be transported to and from Windhoek.

“Our relationship with Cambridge is shaky. They already had an issue of trust with credibility. They have lost confidence in our system and how the examinations leaked in the first place,” Amukana stressed.

Learners suffering

Regarding Pfidze and Richard’s bail, detective warrant officer Simson Tangeni Nampala said he is not in support of the bail application because investigations are still underway.

He said they might discover more if they widen the net, and added that some learners are suffering psychologically from rewriting subjects they already covered.

Pfidze and Richard’s bail application was postponed to 22 February, and they have been remanded in custody.

The State was represented by Martha Hasheela.

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