By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has refuted the report that the cost of printing matric examination papers had ballooned to R3.6 billion .
City Press reported that eight out of nine provincial education departments were printing their matric exam papers through private companies rather than at the Government Printing Works (GPW).
According to the article, the provincial departments were paying private printers significantly more due to security concerns about exam paper leakages.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Department said the total cost of the five-week exam—including the preparation of the papers, marking, printing, transport, and security of the writing process—cost an estimated R3.6 billion.
“It costs the government between R3,800 and R4000 per candidate writing seven subjects to administer the October/November National Senior Certificate examinations, as a whole. In 2024, there will be 727,121 full-time candidates writing seven subjects or more.
“If we calculate the 727,121 candidates multiplied by R4,000 the total is R2.9 billion. In addition, there are 155 215 part-time candidates who write one, two, three or more subjects in an examination. Adding the R2.9 billion to the estimated cost for the 155 215 part-time candidates, amounts to R3.6.billion.
“Thus, the total estimated cost to administer the full examination to both full-time and part-time candidates is around R3.6 billion and this is not just the cost of printing of question papers, which is but one cost driver in the examination process.”
The department added that the estimated cost for printing and packing of question papers for all candidates writing the October/November examination is R220 million, a fraction of the R3.6 billion quoted in the publication.
“It also needs to be noted that there is currently no national procurement directive which compels PEDs or the DBE to print with Government Printing Works, as the preferred provider. One of the PEDs, currently prints its NSC question papers with GPW, given that it lacks an in-house printing facility, and this has been the arrangement for a number of years.
“In addition, the impression created is that the Government Printing Works exists solely for the purpose of printing and packaging NSC examination question papers, which is not correct. GPW provides a service to the entire government. GPW, in its current structure, lacks the capacity to print secure question papers for all nine provincial education departments. This capacity can be extended with time, but the reality is that it is also a major risk for all national question papers to be printed at one venue in the country.”
The department further raised concerns that the lives of the people associated with the companies mentioned in the article could be at risk, especially in the context of the recent kidnapping cases.
“The timing of the article is also disingenuous as this places the entire examination at risk because of the nature of the work the companies do. In the interest of correcting the impression created by the article, the department has been forced to respond, albeit reluctantly at this stage,” it said.
This year, almost 900,000 full- and part-time candidates from public and private schools enrolled for the NSC and Independent Examinations Board exams in South Africa.
According to a statement of Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, this was 8,400 more candidates than in 2023.