The matric pupils who briefly appeared in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday in an effort to stop a rewrite of the physical science paper 2 and mathematics paper 2 final exams complained that there was not enough time to prepare for them.
Yesterday, the SA Democratic Teachers Union, AfriForum and independent pupils went to the court in an effort to get the decision by minister of basic education Angie Motshekga to have the two papers rewritten reversed.
Motshekga announced on Friday that matrics had to rewrite the papers as they were leaked. The maths paper is expected to be written on December 15 and the physical science paper on December 17.
In the notice of motion by civil rights organisation AfriForum, a 17-year-old pupil said on the 15th he will be writing visual arts, which is a three-hour paper, from 9am to midday and two hours later, he will be forced to rewrite maths paper 2.
“We were totally unaware of the leakage and we prepared for the exams as well as we could, given our circumstances and abilities. After we wrote our exams, we had, according to the standing regulations of our schools, handed back our text books for all the subjects that we completed.
“We also destroyed and disposed of our study notes. We will not have enough time to prepare for this paper, which is why the timetable has to be made available in good time,” he said.
He said the minister failed to consult any institution representing pupils.
“In this regard the minister took a decision regarding the most important examination of our lives without even consulting a single learner,” he said.
Education psychologist Irma Eloff said in the court papers that she was deeply concerned about the decision.
“This decision significantly impacts hundreds of thousands of South African learners. The decision may have far-reaching consequences for learners who have already been severely affected during the critical year in their education, which has been constantly disrupted by the effects of a global pandemic. The timetable is announced four months ahead of time and this year it was adjusted due to the school lockdown,” Eloff said.
AfriForum’s attorney Willie Spies said the matter would be heard at 10am today as the judge granted Motshekga until noon to make available the record of the decision on the issue and to file an answering or opposing affidavit.
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