East London - Eastern Cape education officials are confident examination papers will not be leaked in the province.
Reacting to the arrest of two pupils who tried to buy exam papers from an examination official in Limpopo on Friday, Eastern Cape Education MEC Mandla Makupula said all the necessary security measures were in place to prevent similar incidents in the province.
"We haven't had any leaks in the province since 1998. We will certainly not have any leaks this time around," said Makupula.
He said security measures implemented in the province included the central storage of question papers prior to the examination at venues that are under tight security control; the delivery of question papers to schools on the day of the examination and the hiring of private security companies to guard examination venues.
Makapula added that police would accompany vehicles transporting question papers in high risk areas and that all question papers would be sealed in tamper-proof envelopes so that any tampering with question papers can be spotted.
"The department has already printed the final exams and the supplementary papers so that education officials aren't put under unnecessary pressure during the exam period," said Makapula.
He said all 23 provincial examination centres have been accredited by the national department.
Last year, the province achieved a 58.3% pass rate - an improvement from 2009's 51%.
