The Department of Basic Education (DBE) said on Friday that Minister Angie Motshekga will soon announce the findings of the investigation into a matric maths question that some pupils found impossible to answer.
This after pupils complained that the Maths paper 2 question was “impossible” to answer.
Matriculants across the country complained about Question 5 in the Maths Paper two, this week, with many saying it was difficult to answer.
There are fears that the question which carried seven marks could affect the pupils results.
According to Elijah Mhlanga, the department spokesperson, the suspected error was reported all over the country after pupils had written the exam.
Mhlanga explained that once a paper had been written, there is an informal memo discussion comprising pupils and subject teachers to see how the former fared the exam.
It was during these discussions that pupils mentioned the difficulties they had with Question 5. The complaints, he said, came from all corners of South Africa.
However, Mhlanga assured pupils that there was no need to worry about it.
“We will look into it. We have a panel that reviews every paper. If there is an error, the first step is to remove that mark so that no one is compromised.
“If an error has been declared, we will tell markers to ignore Question 5 so that everyone is covered and there is fairness.
“As the exam was out of 100, everyone will be marked on 93. The second step is to check what the impact of that was on the pupils,” Mhlanga said.
National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa)’s Basil Manuel assured pupils that there was no need to panic.
“It is a small error and I certainly hope the minister is going to give an indication that the pupils will be given the benefit of the doubt. Our appeal as the teacher union is that we need to protect the mental health of our children; they don’t need more stress. We hope that what the minister will say will bring some calm to the situation,” Manuel said.
Source: The Voice of Cape Town, News24, Eyewitness News, image from Twitter: @MorningLiveSABC