The Botswana Examinations Council (BEC) is using the Malepa web-based application to process national examinations and is optimistic it will produce satisfactory results.
In addition to the processing of national examinations, the Malepa app is also able to capture examination personnel details, candidates’ registration details as well as payment details for various activities.
The Malepa app was implemented for the first time during the country’s national examinations last year. The BEC expressed their optimism about the app but it was not without technical issues, which caused delays.
Dr Serara Moahi, Executive Secretary for the BEC, said the delays were due to network issues, system bugs and technical glitches. The application was reported to have timed out when attempting to enter data.
“The problems were more technical than a result of us lacking experience because we spent more than a year training people and we continue to train those dealing with the system,” said Dr Moahi.
The connectivity of examination centres were reported to be a problem for online registration because the bandwidth at the centres could not keep up.
Three levels of examinations will be processed through the Malepa app locally. The bulk of the Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) was processed by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE).
