"I believe that the Minister of Education, Angie Motshekga, should institute a full-scale independent audit of the 2013 results," Zille said in a statement.
Provincial education departments are solely responsible for appointing markers and marking matric exams, the opposition party said.
Not marked by a central bodyExam papers are not marked by a central national body, the DA said.
"This means the quality of marking cannot be guaranteed and is not adequately or comparatively standardised around the country.
"Matric markers are not tested for their competency, their subject knowledge or for their ability to interpret answers which are phrased differently from the exam memorandum," Zille said.
At a press conference on December 30, 2013, the Chairperson of education quality assurance council Umalusi, Sizwe Mabizela expressed concern about the fact that the appointment of markers in some provinces was subject to political and union pressure. "This is completely unacceptable and undermines public confidence in the marking process," Zille said.
The investigation the DA is requesting "should have the authority to determine whether marking in the various provincial departments was done competently, whether the quality of marking across the country was sufficiently standardised, and whether there is any evidence of schools and provincial departments engaging in 'culling' - the practice of pushing academically weak students out of the system before they reach the Grade 12 exams".
Credibility in questionThe credibility of the 2013 results has already been called into question by a number of educational experts who have pointed out that the results are too far a departure from the trends over the last several years to be credible.
Increases of 7.6% (in Mpumalanga) and 7.7% (in North West) in one year are near impossible to achieve in one school, let alone across an entire province, the DA said.
"All successful Matriculants will suffer if the credibility of their National Certificates is diminished," Zille said.
The party maintains that Universities and FET Colleges, and most importantly, employers in the job market, will be less willing to accept that applicants are actually qualified if the examination results cannot be trusted.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2014/01/07/da-s-zille-calls-for-independent-audit-of-matric-results