JOHANNESBURG - Fifty former matric pupils in Limpopo accused of group copying during the 2024 final matric exams have been vindicated and will finally receive their results.
The Department of Basic Education accused the learners of cheating after finding similarities in their answers for Business Studies Paper 1 and Economics Paper 2.
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The Limpopo High Court has cleared all 50 learners, paving the way for them to pursue further studies.
The court found that the person who adopted and communicated the guilty verdict against the learners did not have the lawful authority to make that decision.
The learners argued that the similarities in their answers were a result of the teaching methods used at their under-resourced school. They said they were taught through repetition, singing and recitation.
With a shortage of textbooks, teachers had resorted to creative teaching methods to ensure learners were not left behind academically.
Section27’s Thato Gefane says the Education Department and its officials must be held accountable for what he describes as a life-changing blunder.
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“The past two years have been quite difficult emotionally and psychologically on these learners,” Gefane says.
He says the learners lost opportunities to pursue further education and employment while their results were withheld.
“There are lost opportunities for education, opportunities for employment and their own well-being,” he says.
Gefane says those consequences cannot be reversed.