South African Schools Act, 1996 (Act No. 84 of 1996)RegulationsRegulations for the Conduct, Administration and Management of Assessment for the Senior Certificate, 2005Chapter 12 : Procedures for Dealing with Alleged Irregularities59. Procedures in respect of examination irregularities identified during the conduct of examinations |
| (1) | The Head of Department or his or her nominee may immediately suspend an examination official, who contravenes any of these regulations, and the matter must be dealt with in accordance with the Employment of Educators’ Act or in terms of the Public Service Act, or any other relevant legislation. |
| (2) | Examination irregularities stemming from misconduct or wilful disobedience regarding regulations or instructions issued during an examination must be dealt with as follows: |
| (a) | In all cases the Invigilator must immediately bring the specific examination irregularity to the attention of the Chief Invigilator; |
| (b) | The Chief Invigilator must then offer the candidate suspected of an irregularity the opportunity to make a representation, either in writing or verbally, in the presence of the Invigilator. |
| (c) | If the Chief Invigilator, after considering the facts, finds that such an irregularity has indeed occurred, he or she must submit the matter to the Provincial Examinations Irregularities Committee (PEIC) for further investigation and a decision; |
| (d) | In the event of a candidate persistently refusing to co-operate, the Chief Invigilator must request the candidate suspected of an irregularity to leave the examination room. |
| (e) | The answer script must be removed from the candidate’s possession and a note made of the date and exact time of its confiscation. Should the candidate refuse to leave, the Chief Invigilator may call upon the South African Police Services to assist; |
| (f) | If the candidate agrees to co-operate, the Chief Invigilator must allow him or her to continue with the written examination, in which case a new answer book with the date and exact time of issue noted thereon, must be provided; and |
| (g) | The Chief Invigilator must forward his or her report, together with a report from the Invigilator on duty at the time of the alleged irregularity, the candidate’s representation and a written account of events or any statement or exhibit, to the Provincial Examinations Irregularities Committee (PEIC). |
| (3) | In the case of assessment irregularities identified while the question paper is being written, the following procedure should be applied: |
| (a) | The Invigilator must remove the candidate’s answer script and write the word "IRREGULARITY" on the front outside cover page and the type of irregularity, date, time and place of the irregularity; |
| (b) | The words "Answer script confiscated on…at…hours" must be written on the outside cover page in bold print; |
| (c) | The Invigilator must take possession of any unauthorised or incriminating material such as notes or any other object used directly or indirectly or in the possession of the candidate that may have been used to commit the irregularity; |
| (d) | Such material must be attached to the confiscated answer script, which then becomes the property of the relevant assessment body and neither the candidate nor his or her parent(s) or guardians have the right to demand its return; |
| (e) | The Invigilator must then give the candidate a new answer script. This answer script must also be endorsed with the words "NEW ANSWER SCRIPT" together with the date and time of issue; |
| (f) | The candidate must be informed that the fact that he or she is allowed to continue with the examination does not serve as a condonation of his or her contravention of examination regulations and that a written report will be submitted to the Chief Invigilator at the conclusion of the examination and that the incident will be reported to the Provincial Examinations Irregularities Committee (PEIC) of the relevant assessment body; |
| (g) | The Invigilator must not allow any additional time to compensate for time lost in the course of detecting and processing the examination irregularity; |
| (h) | The Invigilator, following the completion of the examination, must immediately submit a full written report to the Chief Invigilator concerning the irregularity; |
| (i) | The candidate, following the completion of the examination, must be confronted about the irregularity and given the opportunity to provide a written declaration or response to the alleged offence; |
| (j) | Where the candidate refuses to submit the required written declaration or provide a response, this refusal must be confirmed in writing by the invigilator. The candidate must sign the statement made by the invigilator; |
| (k) | Where the candidate refuses to comply with subregulation 58(3)(j), another Invigilator attached to the examination centre must provide a written statement confirming the refusal of the candidate to provide a written declaration; and |
| (l) | The answer script, any incriminating material and all applicable statements must then be sent for marking in the normal way and subsequently forwarded to the Provincial Examinations Irregularities Committee. |