The question, worth seven marks, that appeared in the exam was apparently made out of error, which is what made it unsolvable.
Awareness of the situation had been brought to the Department of Basic Education's (DBE ) attention after the suspected error was reported countrywide after learners had written the paper.
Once a paper has been written, Basic Education Spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga explained, there is an informal memo discussion comprising of learners and subject teachers to see how the learners found the exam.
It was during these discussions that learners mentioned the difficulties they had with the question. The complaints, he said, came from all corners of South Africa.
Some learners complained that they wasted time looking for the answer, ending up stressed and frustrated.
According to Mhlanga, the DBE cannot yet confirm that this was an error, but has stated that the matter would be investigated.
Parents and learners have both called for a rewrite, however, the DBE's Spokesperson has said that would not be viable.
"Having to decide on a date for a rewrite would run into the millions just to write that one paper…So we should not be too hasty to talk about rewriting," stated Mhlanga.
If the relevant parties involved in the investigation do find that this was an error, the Department would remove the question entirely and adjust the total marks of the paper.
"If an error has been declared, we will tell markers to ignore Question 5 so that everyone is covered and there is fairness. As the exam was out of 100, everyone will be marked on 93. The second step is to check what the impact of that was on the pupils," explained Mhlanga.
This potential error is just one of the challenges that have arisen since the exam season began. On top of loadshedding, the threat of learners missing their exams (if they haven't already) due to strikes and protests lingers.
The final matric exams officially kicked off on 31 October 2022.
