This blocked the results of thousands of students in 25 subjects that were due to have been released at the end of last month. At least 20,000 students are affected.
The implicated subjects, which fell under natural science studies, were written by students at most of the country's 50 public technical and vocational colleges, as well as scores of private colleges.
More than 10,000 students planning to become electricians, welders and plumbers are understood to have written maths on the N3 level.
The exam leaks come in the wake of Deputy Minister of Higher Education Mduduzi Manana's campaign to motivate high school pupils to consider artisanship as a career to produce a more skilled workforce.
His department confirmed in a circular to colleges that it was conducting an audit of the subjects under investigation and that the results were now only expected to be released by 16 October.
In another circular, dated 8 September, the department's chief director for national exams, Nadine Pote, stated that the results were withheld "due to the nature of the irregularities reported during the conduct of the examination".
Joe Chiloane, principal of Tshwane South Technical Vocational Education and Training College in Pretoria, confirmed that he had reported two students to the department, but declined to say why.
An Ekurhuleni West College student in Gauteng said a friend had sent him the maths N6 question paper and all the answers on WhatsApp a week before he wrote the paper.
"It was identical to the paper I wrote. I deleted the one I received on WhatsApp before I could sit for the exam."
The 21-year-old said he knew of students who also received the power machines N6 and industrial electronics N6 question papers on WhatsApp.
"I feel really bad because some students had studied hard and didn't want to receive those papers on WhatsApp."
Another student at the same college said he had put in several hours a day studying for four of the papers that are among the 25 under investigation.
"I did not receive the papers on WhatsApp. I put in a lot of work yet my results have also been blocked. It's not fair."
The student said his plans of applying for an internship through Transnet were in jeopardy because the results had been withheld.
A student who is studying electrical engineering at the Maluti Technical Vocational Education and Training College in QwaQwa in the Free State, said it was frustrating that the results had been blocked.
"We cannot go to the next level if we don't have our previous results."
He wrote electrotechnics N4, industrial electronics N4 and power machines N5 and said the results were supposed to have been released on 31 August.
"I studied very hard for the three papers. It was written over three consecutive days and it was a very stressful time."
He is among the scores of students who are fuming because they had to re-register for the same subjects because of the investigation.
Students would be able to deregister that subject once cleared by the investigation.
A senior lecturer and examiner, who described the department's exams section as "a mess", said the leakages of the question papers were "the worst ever" and prejudiced hardworking students.
Higher Education DirectorGeneral Gwebinkundla Qonde confirmed in a statement that the department's initial investigation indicated that candidates might have been in possession of question papers before the exams.
"The bulk of exam centres found not implicated in any irregularities should receive their results for the affected subjects within the next two weeks."
He said there was no indication of any involvement by department officials in the leakage of the exam papers.
"The department is not in a position to release any further details regarding the investigation as it is at a sensitive stage."
Qonde said the department viewed the "irregularities" in a serious light and would work with the police to identify perpetrators.
Source: Sunday Times
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