On Monday, 21 October, the first papers in this year’s National Senior Certificate, or Matric, exams will be written. As always, exam paper security is a major concern. It is reassuring that specialist service providers have been entrusted with the secure printing, storing and transporting of exam papers.
Ever wondered how the exam papers for the National Senior School Certificate are kept safe and secure?
Well each of South Africa’s nine provinces has an exam-printing department, which runs the process of outsourcing the production and delivery of papers. The papers are then printed by Independent third-party providers who print all Grade-12 papers which are then distributed by another secure distribution company to regional hubs, that then distribute pre-packed specific amounts of papers required by each school directly to the school on the morning of the examination.
All simple right? Well not really. There is an enormous amount of high-end security that goes into making the papers secure and to avoid any leaks
Business Tech Africa spoke to Keith Knott of Altron Document Solutions (ADS), who are the current secure printing partners currently coordinating the exam-paper printing process for the departments of education in six provinces, about what the secure processes are.
Keith states that ADS is a member of a consortium that manages the end-to-end exam printing and distribution with another partner who manages all aspects of security and a third that deals with the packaging and distribution of papers to and from the schools and the various exam marking centres.
Knott explains that his company manages the printing facility. “We supply the printing and finishing machines, the staff who operate the equipment and the round-the-clock technical support. Our back-office team manages invoicing and queries, and in case of a breach of security, our internal security people are involved in investigations.”
Security is at the heart of the consortium’s activities. Every single person who works at the print facility undergoes a criminal record and credit check every six months, and no one with a child in grades 10, 11 or 12 is allowed on site. These staff members are redeployed to less secure sites that serve less sensitive clients until their children have finished school.
Every exam-printing site is monitored by security guards and with CCTV cameras 24/7, access control is biometrics-based and staff are searched when they enter and exit. No mobile phones are allowed inside the facility and even senior staff members, such as Knott himself, must get permission from the site manager to enter the facility and may not move around unaccompanied.
Top-class printing machines and the management processes followed by the print team combine to ensure watertight security. The file with the exam paper to be printed is submitted in encrypted format to the quality control staff at the provincial department. Once they have completed their quality checks, an un-corruptible file is given to the printing site manager who, after running a check of his own, sends a sample print to the machines.
Any spoiled copies, for example, due to a skewed print, torn paper, or quality-related problems, must be handled by a security officer, not the machine operator. The security officer counts and records the number of spoils and then destroys them in a high-security shredder.
Knott states that ADS’ responsibility ends when the printed exam papers are handed over to the distribution company, which packs and transports the paper.
Some of the secure processes in distribution include:
- Distributed vehicles are fitted with cameras
- Driving times are carefully checked and all stops are monitored.
- At the school, only specific staff members are verified to receive the papers.
- They count the packs and sign for delivery.
- Once marking has been completed, the marked papers are collected by the distribution company and returned to the print precinct where they are scanned and then high-volume guillotined. The scans are stored in an electronic vault that allows for record keeping.
“Timing is critical,” notes Knott. “We get the full exam timetable and schedule when the papers must be ready for distribution at around mid-year and work out our print schedule accordingly.”
What does it take to make a partnership work in such a specialised environment? “Trust and integrity,” answers Knott. “Along with a shared commitment to succeed and do our bit to help secure the future of the students writing exams. All the consortium partners get behind this common purpose. It focuses our efforts to jointly provide the technology, security and human support that ensure the credibility of the exam printing process.”
According to Knott, the consortium also prints and distributes exam papers for several other African states and they are looking to invest in setting up secure print centres in these states to avoid long distance delivery costs and security risks of long distance transportation of papers.
