The father of a young woman from Mitchell’s Plain, is proud that he was able to help his daughter and another woman who were kept waiting for months for their matric results by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED).
The cause of the bungle was that Anusha Davids, 22, from Rondevlei wrote her exams under the wrong exam number, while Michaela Samuels, 21, wrote at the wrong venue. After months of investigations and enquiries by Ms Davids’s father, Timothy Fourie, they finally received their results.
Ms Davids, 22, wrote her senior certificate exam in June last year. She was a part-time pupil and attended evening classes at Highlands Primary School.
The classes run for a year, from Mondays to Thursdays, for two hours each day.
Ms Davids said when she arrived at the exam venue in June, the department failed to provide her with an exam number, even though she was registered.
“I was told to sit in the exam room and to present my ID document instead. I then got a page which stated A Davids and an exam number. I then signed it because it had my initials and surname. I wrote eight exams under this number and name, and when the exams were done, we were told that we will be getting our results in August,” she said.
Ms Davids said she waited for weeks before she started getting worried.
Mr Fourie enquired about her results and was told that Ms Davids had been absent. He also had a copy of the register for the exams which his daughter had signed.
“We had constant negative feedback. We were told she didn’t write the exams and at one point she was accused of using another person’s number.
“I didn’t accept the responses, because we knew that Anusha wrote all the exam papers, the feedback was impossible. She had to go to the police station to do a written affidavit, sign a WCED investigating form and do a handwriting sample,” he said.
Mr Fourie said the department took extremely long with the investigation and then went to the Public Protector for an investigation in January.
Within a month Ms Davids received her results from the WCED.
“It was a long process; I was emotional and very disappointed in the department. I thought that all of the hard work, money and time were going to waste.
“During the six to seven months I could have completed my other subjects but you need the results of 2015. I got a job offer but I needed my certificate, so I was held back, and it isn’t fair,” said Ms Davids.
Mr Fourie also assisted Ms Samuels, a Parkwood resident, who wrote her exam at the wrong venue in November 2015.
She said she was provided with a provisional number and venue which was Fairmount High School in Grassy Park for day school.
Ms Samuels was supposed to write her exams at Grassdale High School.
Ms Samuels said she was given a temporary exam number, but when the exams were over, the WCED had no records of her on the system. She had to fill in an investigating form on March 16.
Mr Fourie wrote letters to the department requesting that the matter be resolved.
Ms Samuels then received her results in April this year.
Jessica Shelver, spokesperson for Education MEC Debbie Schäfer, neither denied nor confirmed whether the department had been at fault.
In response to the Plainsman’s enquiry about what went wrong, Ms Shelver said: “The queries regarding the outstanding results were resolved and candidates were duly informed. Results were issued.”
Ms Shelver confirmed that Ms Davids had registered and written the Senior Certificate Grade 12 examination of June 2015.
She said Ms Davids wrote English Home Language, Afrikaans First Additional Language and mathematical literacy during the examination.
Ms Shelver said Ms Samuels was a full time candidate in 2014 but didn’t achieve a National Senior Certificate (NSC) as she had failed two subjects.
Ms Shelver said Ms Samuels wrote the NSC examination in 2015 again and passed the outstanding subjects. “A request was then received for the 2014 and 2015 results to be combined, which was done. The combined certificate was posted on June 1 this year via registered mail for Ms Samuels’ attention,” she said.
The WCED did not respond to our questions about Ms Samuels’ claim that she had written her exam at the wrong venue.
“Our young ladies can finally rest. They have been accused and investigated but didn’t give up. To them education is important and we wish them nothing but the best,” said Mr Fourie.