Gauteng education hits back at exam security corruption claims

The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has vehemently slammed the alleged misleading and sensationalist article published online by Sunday World on Wednesday, 12 November 2025, with the headline “Matric exams at risk amid alleged Gauteng school security tender corruption - DA”.

According to the publication, a Democratic Alliance( DA ) whistleblower, senior officials in the Gauteng education department are accused of engaging in systemic corruption when it comes to awarding security tenders for the protection of matriculation exam papers.

The publication alleged that the Gauteng education department preselected certain companies to receive tenders in exchange for kickbacks ranging from 10% to 20%, with some of these companies reportedly rotated under different names and directors to disguise ownership links.

However, on Monday, the provincial department rejected these reports, saying this unfortunate article, which appears to rely solely on a statement issued by the Democratic Alliance (DA), irresponsibly questions the integrity of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations in the province.

It claims that: “As thousands of Gauteng learners continue with their matric examinations, concerns have emerged over the integrity and security of the process following allegations of widespread corruption in the province’s school security tenders," said MEC Matome Chiloane in a statement.

Chiloane said the article cites further misinformation from the DA, claiming that: "This corruption is happening under the watch of Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, who has failed to curb corruption in the department despite repeated promises to do so.”

Chiloane accused the DA of misleading the public over unfounded corruption allegations, saying the allegations are aimed at projecting the provincial Premier in a negative light.

“This is a clear and disturbing indication that the DA’s obsession and concerted efforts to assassinate Premier Lesufi’s character have gone astray, desperately searching for any opportunity to portray the Premier in a negative light.

"More so, it is deeply concerning that Sunday World proceeded to publish these sensational claims without any credible evidence. The article is essentially constructed purely on hearsay: Sunday World says the DA claims that a whistleblower claims that there is corruption. They reported this chain of allegations as fact, without even a comment from the Department itself,” Mabona stated.

The MEC added that the publication of the article reflects a troubling disregard for journalistic ethics and defeats the impartiality that reporting should embody.