At least 300 matriculants from Port St. Johns were found to be guilty of cheating during their examinations.
Five of their peers in another school in the Eastern Cape province and their 30 teachers are still under investigation.
Those who have been found guilty, won’t be able to write their exams for the next three years as part of their punishment.
The Eastern Cape Education Department had picked up irregularities during their marking of the Life Sciences, Physical Science, and Accounting exam papers.
Whilst the Education Department was conducting its investigations, matric results of the learners were withheld from them, and the learners will only have access to their results after the investigations.
In a soundbyte on ENCA, Eastern Cape Education Department spokesperson, Malibongwe Mtima said:
The learners who have been found guilty will be banned from writing examinations for three sessions...They'll only be liable to write in 2024 November there's going to be a legal rule that will be followed to deal with the educators.
It has been reported that the teachers implicated are back in the classroom for now.
The Congress of South African Students (COSAS) has called for the department to do a thorough investigation and that the blame cannot simply be shifted to the learners.
