The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education in South Africa has ordered an investigation into allegations that learners at Ntwentle High School were prevented from writing an Accounting examination.
The investigation follows allegations that some learners were denied access to the examination, prompting the provincial education authorities to intervene.
According to IOL, KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka directed the Head of Department to conduct a thorough, impartial and speedy investigation to establish what happened.
The inquiry will determine whether any education policies, regulations or professional codes of conduct were breached. The department said all parties involved would have an opportunity to present their accounts before any decision is reached.
The department stressed that preventing eligible learners from taking examinations undermines fairness, access to education and the integrity of the assessment process.
It also reminded school principals that they were responsible for ensuring eligible learners could sit their examinations under fair conditions and without obstruction.
Parents, guardians and learners have been urged to report any attempt to prevent a learner from writing an examination to the relevant district office or the department’s hotline.
In a related development, a school principal in the Free State was suspended after allegedly preventing a matric learner from writing an examination over unpaid school fees. The learner has since been allowed to continue with the examinations, according to IOL.
The KwaZulu-Natal department said it would communicate the outcome of its investigation after the process had been concluded.
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