The department has sought to clarify this after a City Press article accused the department of using private printing companies to print exam papers.
According to the publication, this has increased the total cost of printing from less than R1 billion to R3,6 billion. The department’s spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga says the remainder of cash – after printing costs of R220 million – was spent on transport, security and paying teachers. “I think the journalist did not understand what we were talking about. He mistook the total cost of running the exam for the printing of question papers. Every year we get asked, ‘what are you doing to make sure that papers do not leak?’ We say we increase monitors, we improve our storage facilities, we improve security, we’re changing printing companies, we’re making sure we using are state security – they advise us.