Govt wants to crack down hard on result leaks, enlists Hawks

The department of basic education (DBE) yesterday confirmed there was a possible breach of matric exam results, but assured South Africans it would not affect the "integrity of the results".

- Faizel Patel

This comes after Johannesburg company Edumarks allegedly enticed matric pupils to pay R100 to get their results early.

Minister Siviwe Gwarube briefed the media on the possible breach of the results yesterday.

"It became clear to us about 48 hours ago that there is a potential breach in our information. There are multiple steps in the inputting and compiling of the matric results.

"The breach seems to have happened only at the tail end that pertains to verified results that have already been verified. The reason why I make that distinction clear is so that it can be clear to everybody " we are talking about the results themselves that very well may have been leaked," Gwarube said.

She said the State Security Agency and the Hawks (Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation) would join the department in investigating the leak.

"I'm not able to say definitively if in fact the results have been leaked because we have enlisted the services of the Hawks and State Security.