South Africa’s Department of Basic Education (DBE) indicated in a statement of retaliation against a City Press article alleging excessive spending on exam papers for the 2024 matric exams that it was “investigating” the possibility of using future the fully digital question papers.

“Department of Basic Education is in continuous discussions with GPW to explore options for wider use of GPW (Government Printing Press) in printing question papers and also to investigate digitization of question papers,” it said in a small part of the document. statement.

This is the first time we are aware of the department making such a remark. The end-of-year matric exams are a hugely expensive endeavor for the South African government, with the DBE revealing this week that it will spend R3.6 billion to run the 2024 matric exams, or 11.18% of its total budget for 2023/2024.

The figure of 3.6 billion lei includes the setting of exam papers, their moderation, printing, transport, security involved in transport, including truck tracking technology, and then the marking of papers which includes costs for markers, accommodation, travel. , meals and venue costs.

A portion of the total price will also go towards “Maintenance and Improvement of the Examination Computer System”.

Finally, the printing and distribution of exam results are also included in the figure.

Digital exams could save taxpayers hundreds of millions

With digital question papers, DBE could eliminate at least printing, shipping and exam paper security out of the equation. The printing of the exams alone is said to have cost South African taxpayers R220 million.

The best case scenario would see question papers set and then kept in a secure digital database until the day of each respective exam. They will be accessed by learners using their exam numbers or ID numbers.

They would also be marked directly on the digital system, which could also eliminate some of the costs that go into supporting markers and moderators.

“With online exams, educational institutions can use technology to create a more dynamic and adaptive assessment environment,” writes distance learning exam moderation company ProctorTrack.

“Online exams allow for the integration of multimedia elements, interactive questions and real-time feedback. They cater to the diverse learning styles of today’s students, making the educational experience more engaging and effective. Additionally, online exams are inherently scalable, efficiently accommodating many students.”

In addition, digital exams distributed through online means can lead to cost reduction, but a strong cyber security effort would be required to protect the database from hackers.

“Institutions can achieve cost savings with fewer physical resources. This includes reduced expenses related to printing, logistics and the hiring of additional staff for supervision. These cost savings are available for reinvestment to improve the overall quality of education,” adds ProctorTrack.

AQA, the UK’s exam board, is preparing the country’s learners to sit digital end-of-year exams over the next decade. It was said in 2023 that “the time has come” to add more digital technology to the country’s exams.

After an article from WeekAQA believes that since young people are more in tune with the digital world than ever before – which includes South Africans – they would be better prepared for the world of work after final exams.

More than two-thirds of young Britons surveyed by AQA said digital exams would better prepare them for “future work, education or training” opportunities.

The review board adds that digital exams have the potential to be more inclusive and fair, particularly for people with special educational needs, and would end the so-called “handwriting bias” where markers remove marks because struggling to read. exam answers.

They also have the potential to be better for the environment. In the UK, the 12 million exam papers prepared each summer “create 600 tonnes of CO2”, not including emissions from delivery trucks across the country and 30 tonnes of plastic packaging for reams of paper.

Are digital matric exams a hope?

There are serious downsides to the possibility, however. Most relevant to South Africa is the digital divide.

right the last censusthere are still nearly 8% of households in the country without access to a smartphone and a higher number of 35.2% that have no access to the internet at all.

The figure is disastrous when looking at schools across the country. A 2022 ITWeb The report indicated that only 20% of South Africa’s 23 258 primary and secondary schools had internet access, and of those 6 770 schools were only connected to the internet for administrative purposes – not for student access.

Unless the government can close this divide, and quickly, it is likely that South Africa will never have widespread online digital examinations. The costs of bringing the Internet to schools through public channels would also be enormous, despite the future savings it might bring.

It also fails to take into account that most schools in South Africa do not have the necessary devices to host digital exams for every learner, nor do they have teachers with the right skills to coach and prepare the learners themselves for the exams.

It would take years of preparation and procurement of devices and millions of taxpayer rand. At the moment, the possibility of having digital matric exams in South Africa remains a pipe dream at worst, at best only certain privileged schools will be able to host them. The question then becomes, is it worth it?

(Image – Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash)