Polokwane – SECTION27 has welcomed the High Court in Polokwane clearing 50 former matric learners from Baphutheng Senior Secondary School accused of cheating during their Senior Certificate exams.
Last week, the court also ordered the release of their results and certificates, which had been withheld some two years ago.
In a statement made available to The Bulrushes on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, SECTION27 said it “welcomes the order of the Limpopo Division of the High Court in Polokwane clearing 50 former matric learners”.
“For almost two years, these learners have lived under the label of ‘cheaters’ because similarities in their Business Studies Paper 1 and Economics Paper 2 answers were treated as proof of group copying,” said SECTION27.
“The learners consistently denied cheating and explained that they were taught in an under-resourced school with limited access to textbooks and other learning materials, where educators relied on creative teaching methods such as singing, group repetition and recitation to help learners memorise concepts and essay structures.
“There was no direct evidence of copying during the examinations, and the educators, invigilators and the school principal were not questioned about the similarities.”
SECTION27 said despite this, the Limpopo Department of Education made serious findings against the learners largely based on similarities in their examination scripts.
On 1 October 2026, Acting Judge Masilo handed down an order, with written reasons to follow.
The court found that the department had failed to establish that the learners committed any form of examination irregularity.
As a result, it reviewed and set aside the disciplinary findings, the former acting head of department’s decision to adopt the disciplinary findings, and the MEC’s decision dismissing the learners’ appeal.
SECTION27 said more concerning, the court further found that the former acting head of department communicated findings against the learners even though the body legally required to make the relevant decision and recommendation had not done so.
“The learners were therefore found guilty in an irregular and unlawful process,” said SECTION27, the public interest law centre dedicated to advancing human rights, healthcare access, and basic education through legal advocacy and social justice initiatives.
“The department’s incompetence resulted in trauma for the learners, wasting two years of their lives that they will never get back.”
The court directed the department to provide the learners with complete, unredacted statements of results, free from any annotation or suggestion of examination irregularities, within five days.
Their formal National Senior Certificates must similarly be issued, without any adverse endorsement, within 30 days.
“This order is particularly important because these learners come from a deeply under-resourced school, where poverty and inequality shape the conditions in which they are expected to learn,” SECTION27 said.
“Teaching methods developed in response to inequality should never become another way of punishing learners for the inequality they already endure.
“Learners in South Africa should never be subjected to such abuse of power and discrimination by a system meant to protect them.”
