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E
EXAM CHEATS FACE CRIMINAL RECORDS
Latoya Newman November 09 2009 at 07:30AM
Close to 300 people who should have rewritten their matric final examinations this year have had to forfeit writing the current
examination after they were found guilty of cheating during last year's finals.
The KwaZulu-Natal Education Department said 550 candidates had been investigated for group or organised copying (that is, circulating copy sheets) during last year's finals and 25 candidates for using crib notes.
Education Department spokeswoman Mbali Thusi said 256 candidates had been found guilty of copying in a group and 22 for using crib notes.
"Their results in the subjects where they copied were declared null and void and they will not be allowed to write examinations for a period of one year. This means that they may write in 2010."
Meanwhile, 394 candidates' results were released because there was not enough evidence that they were involved in copying.
The department warned that cheating would not be tolerated, while the police said some forms of cheating could lead to candidates and their accomplices facing criminal charges.
Police Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said they had also dealt with hundreds of cases of "ghost writing" - where legitimate candidates "hire" someone else to write exams for them - in recent years.
In 2007, two ghost writers writing mathematics papers for other candidates were arrested. The incident was reported at the Shaka's Kraal Adult Basic Education and Training Learning Centre in KwaDukuza.
Mdunge said there were usually three people involved in such cases: "The ghost writer, the legitimate candidate, and a third person who is the go-between who facilitates the payments between the other two.
"Usually the ghost writer confesses and turns State witness. So there have been convictions in most cases, where the culprits faced fraud charges," he said.
This article was originally published on page 5 of The Mercury on November 09, 2009
GAMBLING IN THE CLASSROOM
By Fiona Gounden
School pupils, some as young as 10, are gambling with their classmates and are losing thousands of rands a day.
Many of them are stealing money from their parents and in some cases have become violent and punched their classmates, while others have been threatened with knives, according to Niven Naidoo of Gamblers' Anonymous.
His organisation's statistics show that in the past two months there have been 23 cases of children caught gambling at Durban schools.
Naidoo, who works with schoolchildren from the Durban south area, said his organisation had found that pupils are gambling with their friends using match boxes, bottle tops and cards to represent money.
"We experienced problems where these pupils are losing between R50 and R100 a day after getting into gambling groups. In one game R2 coins are hidden inside these boxes and they (pupils) are asked to guess in which box the money is in. They win at first and are then enticed to bet for more money. They then bet for amounts like R10 or R20."
Some of these youngsters were even gambling for drugs, said Naidoo.
"They are playing card games where each player has to put a certain drug on the table. Thereafter the winner takes all the drugs. We are encouraging teachers to be vigilant and confiscate any of these items."
He said there had been incidents that had led to violence because of quarrels as a result of the gambling.
SAPS spokesman Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said police would take a tough stance on gambling at schools.
"It is a sensitive issue because they are minors. However, gambling is a serious crime and very often these children pick up these habits from adults and drug dealers. We urge these youngsters to come forward with this information and not let peer pressure at schools force them to gamble".
Joan van Niekerk of Childline said gambling at such a young age could have a negative impact on children's lives later on.
"When they become adults they may become addicts and may lose their incomes and jobs because of this. They need counselling now so that the problem can be sorted out before it reaches a serious stage."
o This article was originally published on page 2 of The Independent on Saturday on September 19, 2009
'THIS IS HOOLIGANISM OF THE HIGHEST ORDER'
November 13 2009 at 05:06PM
Matric exams were disrupted by an angry mob at Thembelihle High School in Khayelitsha on Friday, causing disorder at a second school in Cape Town this week.
"We simply cannot tolerate this kind of thuggish behaviour which prejudices the rights of learners writing the most important examinations of their lives," said Western Cape education minister Donald Grant.
"After a discussion with the premier, a decision has been taken to seek an urgent interdict against the Congress of SA Students (Cosas) to prevent them from entering or approaching any public ordinary school or designated exam centre."
Education spokesperson Bronagh Casey said the mob stormed into the classroom where 17 pupils were writing their Physical Sciences Paper 1.
"They were being unruly and the examination had to be stopped but will continue later on Friday."
There were no reported incidents of violence.
On Thursday examinations at Langa Secondary School were disrupted, leaving two pupils injured after police dispersed the crowd with rubber bullets.
The disruptions are over Lagunya Finishing School and the prospect of it being closed.
The department of education was considering closing the Lagunya Finishing School, as the current model for schooling in the country did not make provision for finishing schools.
Police prevented the Lagunya children from entering Kulani Secondary School. They also tried to disrupt exams at Ikamvalethu Secondary and Isilimela Secondary schools.
Casey said the public consultation process regarding a decision on whether to close the school was still being finalised and no decision had been taken yet.
Pupils wrote their papers at Langa Secondary on Friday without any incidents.
Basic education minister Angie Motshekga said that police should be merciless against "hooligans".
"This is hooliganism of the highest order and the police should mercilessly crush this act of cowardice," Motshekga said in a statement.
"We can't allow the future of hard working learners to be disrupted by those who believe violence can solve the so-called problems they have.
"The rights of those who want to write exams should be protected at all times and those who derive pleasure in disrupting schools should know that we will unleash the heavy hand of the law to crush their actions." - Sapa
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REG RUMNEY
A journalist for more than two decades, Reg Rumney is the head of the Centre for Economics Journalism in Africa, whose aim is to improve the quality of business, finance and economics journalism. He brings to the task wide-ranging experience in business journalism, in both print and broadcast media.
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