A brazen matric exam cheating scandal has rocked Mpumalanga, with pupils in several schools allegedly paying teachers up to R1,500 to join WhatsApp groups on which answers were posted while exams were in session. The scandal may include five more provinces and involve 1189 learners. While the Department of Basic Education has rejected claims that the scandal has a national footprint, it will investigate what has happened in Mpumalanga as it received the tip-off on their WhatsApp national hotline.

In this hour, we look at the social implications of a pervasive cheating culture on an ailing education system on our values as a society. We also unpack whether this scandal is a reflection of our society’s dysfunction playing out in important institutions that shape the minds of the next generation. What is the relationship between education, our values and self-worth? What leads these young people to cheat? What is our responsibility when it comes to how we respond to the pervasiveness of this conduct in society?

Guest: Prof. Mary Metcalfe - Professor of Practice at the University of Johannesburg

Guest: Saego Maapola - Educational Psychologist