1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 According to Circular 0025/2008, each district is expected to have established a district assessment irregularities committee (DAIC) by 30 September 2008.
1.2 The DAIC is an appendage of the Provincial Examinations Irregularities Committee (PEIC) and will operate under the jurisdiction of the PEIC, reporting regularly to the PEIC. The PEIC will consolidate the inputs from all DAICs and present a provincial report to the National Examinations Irregularities Committee.
1.3 The DAIC will deal with all assessment irregularities at GET, ABET and FET levels, and will play a major role in dealing with irregularities relating to the common tasks for assessments (CTAs), and Foundations for Learning and school-based assessments.
1.4 The purpose of this minute is to provide guidelines on how assessment irregularities must be managed at district level.
2. GUIDELINES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF ASSESSMENT IRREGULARITIES AT DISTRICT LEVEL
2.1 Identification and reporting of an alleged irregularity
2.1.1 An alleged irregularity involving any national examinations, e.g. National Senior Certificate, Senior Certificate and ABET Level 4, must be reported immediately to the following address at Head Office:

Head: Education
Attention: M. Ludick (Room 5 - 29, 5th Floor)
Western Cape Education Department
Grand Central Building
Lower Parliament Street
Cape Town
8001

Tel: 021 467 2246
Fax: 021 461 5637
E-mail address: mmludick@pgwc.gov.za
2.1.2 An alleged irregularity involving school-based assessments, CTAs, Grade 3, 6 and 9 provincial assessments, etc. must be reported to the district's IMG manager, and the district office must notify Head Office.
2.1.3 Once an irregularity has been reported to the district office, a docket (or file) must be opened by the secretary of the DAIC. A particular case number must be assigned to each irregularity and each case must be numbered according to the sector concerned, e.g. GET irregularities must be numbered GET 1, GET 2, etc., while FET irregularities must be numbered FET 1, FET 2, etc. All irregularity cases must be recorded on the WCED irregularity spread sheet (see Addendum A). A separate spreadsheet must be used for each sector.
2.2 Investigation and reporting
2.2.1 The circuit team manager (CTM) of the circuit concerned must assign the case to an investigating officer. The investigating officer should be the person who has knowledge of the type of irregularity. For example, if an irregularity involves a principal, the IMG adviser should investigate the case; if it involves learners with special needs, the SLES official should investigate.
2.2.2 An investigation should be conducted within three days of the identification of an alleged irregularity. A report has to be submitted to the CTM for quality assurance so as to ensure that the investigation has been conducted effectively and the relevant evidence collected.
2.2.3 The report must provide a detailed account of the background to the irregularity, action taken, evidence collected, findings and recommended sanctions. The reporting template is attached as Addendum B.
2.2.4 It is recommended that, prior to the DAIC meeting, an internal subcommittee of the DAIC deliberate on cases and make recommendations for further action.
2.3 Tabling of irregularity cases to the DAIC
2.3.1 All cases, recommendations and motivations are tabled at a full sitting of the DAIC.
2.3.2 The DAIC may impose sanctions as stipulated in the regulations (see Gazette No. 31337, August 2008, pages 152 - 158) and the regulations for the management and conducting of CTAs in Grade 9 (Circular 0036/2008).
2.3.3 The DAIC's recommendations must be submitted to the district director for approval.
2.4 Implementation of decisions and sanctions
2.4.1 The decisions and recommendations of the DAIC must be communicated to the person, school or institution under investigation within 30 working days of finalisation of the case.
2.4.2 The secretary of the DAIC must follow up on the decisions and submit biannual reports to the PEIC, by 15 July and 15 December each year. Each report must include all investigated irregularities of the previous 6 months.
3. CONCLUSION
3.1 Attached to this minute, as Addendum C, is a flow diagram illustrating how the DAIC must manage irregularities during the writing of examinations.
3.2 District directors are kindly requested to bring the contents this minute to the attention of the relevant officials.


SIGNED: T SINGH
ACTING HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2009:09:11


The following documents relate to this minute / circular.
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Addendum A: WCED Irregularity Spreadsheet  (size: 88 KB)

Adobe Acrobat ReaderŽ is required to view / print the following documents.
Addendum B: Report on irregularities - Template  (size: 77 KB)
Addendum C: Process for management of Irregularities at District Level (Guideline to the DAIC)  (size: 20 KB)

Gazette No. 31337, Annexure M:  Dealing with Discipline and Misconduct - Examination Irregularities  (size: 510 KB)