1. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has recently acquired sophisticated printing and packing machines for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) and Adult Education and Training (AET) Level 4 question papers.

2. We therefore request principals/centre managers and/or chief invigilators to be more vigilant when removing question papers from strong rooms and before issuing question papers to candidates.

3. Principals/centre managers and/or chief invigilators are requested to ensure that the following steps are followed when question papers are removed from strongrooms:
3.1 Principals/centre managers and/or chief invigilators must ensure that consignments of question papers are packed per session and session boxes are sealed until an hour before the commencement of the said session.
3.2 An hour before the commencement of an examination, the principal/centre manager must summon the chief invigilator (if the chief invigilator responsibility is delegated) and the senior subject teacher to his/her office.
3.3 All three (3) of these persons must consult the NSC or AET Level 4 timetable to confirm the paper to be written and the session in which it is to be written.
3.4 The chief invigilator and the senior subject teacher must accompany the principal/centre manager to remove the correct box or canvas bag with the Smart Locking Logic (SLL) electronic seal marked for that particular examination session from the strongroom. Only the principal/centre manager may enter the strongroom. The strongroom must then be locked again.
3.5 The sealed box or canvas bag must be taken to the principal’s/centre manager’s office. The sealed box or canvas bag must be verified against the timetable. Once verified, the box/canvas bag must be opened. Each satchel (inner bag) must be checked for the correct subject and session by all three persons – INDEPENDENTLY. Only the outer session bag must thus be opened in the principal’s/centre manager’s office.
3.6 The register must then be signed in the principal’s/centre manager’s office confirming that the satchels have been checked and that the subject and paper match the session and examination timetable.
3.7 The satchels must be placed back in the outer session bag and be taken to the examination venue.
3.8 Once all candidates are seated and answer books issued, the examination rules must be read out. Then, two candidates must be selected to verify that the correct question papers have been brought to the venue.
3.9 The two candidates must be shown each and every satchel to verify that the correct papers are in the bags. The two candidates must sign a register in the examination room.
3.10 The satchels may now be cut open and the question papers handed to the invigilator/s at the main desk. Each invigilator MUST check through their batch of question papers to ensure that it contains the correct subject and paper. Once the final checking has been done, the question papers may be handed out to candidates with the spine facing the candidate.
3.11 Should you discover an incorrect question paper amongst the paper/s to be written, you are requested to immediately seal the question paper concerned and ensure that it is locked up safely in the strongroom. Report this immediately to Mr Blackie Swart at 082 409 8820 or 021 467 2057.
3.12 Once more the principals/centre managers and/or chief invigilators are requested to ensure that all of the above-mentioned steps are meticulously followed before each and every candidate receives a copy of the question paper.


SIGNED: BK SCHREUDER
ACTING HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2016:11:07