The North West education department has allegedly entered into a significant new contract for printing matric exam papers, raising concerns over a substantial increase in costs.
Previously, the department spent just over R27 million annually on printing these papers. However, insiders claim that a new five-year agreement has been signed with the Lebone Altron DSV Consortium, reportedly valued at R128 million per year. This would bring the total expenditure to approximately R640 million over the duration of the contract.
The alleged increase in spending has sparked questions about the necessity and justification for such a significant budget escalation. As of now, the department has not publicly confirmed or provided details regarding the contract.
