Zimbabwe Times
May 21, 2009
By Our Correspondent
HARARE – The government will start releasing results for last year’s Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (ZIMSEC) examinations, beginning this Friday.
The government has also committed itself to proceeding with this year’s mid-year public examinations, ending months of uncertainty over its capacity to manage any public examination before it could release last year’s results.
David Coltart, the Minister of Education, Arts, Sports and Culture told journalists on Wednesday that the June and November 2008 Advanced Level results were to be announced this Friday.
He said this would be followed by the release of the June and November 2008 Ordinary Level results which should be expected by June 5.
The release of the Grade 7 results, which, normally, are first to be released, is scheduled for June 26.
Coltart said US$352 000 had been sourced from the treasury to fund the 2009 mid-year ZIMSEC examinations.
Examination fees for the examinations commencing on July 6, 2009 and ending on July 27, 2009, had been pegged at US$10 per subject for both O’ Level and A’ Level students.
Candidates wishing to sit for the examinations are to register with their respective examinations centres on or before June 12.
Due to the delay in publishing the results for last year, some schools used the 2008 mid-year internal examinations to determine the suitability of students seeking enrolment to advance to Forms One and Forms Five.
But the minister said such students would be made to terminate any tuition already in progress if it turns out they did not qualify when their results were eventually released.
Coltart also reiterated that no student shall be barred from attending classes for failure to pay fees.
He urged schools to turn to the courts to sue individual parents unable to pay fees for their children.
He said fees announced two weeks ago shall remain operational for the second term until the government reviewed them next term.
The government pegged US$5 as the fees for high-density primary schools while low-density government schools would demand US$10 from each pupil. Rural schools are not supposed to charge any tuition fees at primary level.
Rural secondary schools are supposed to charge US$5 per student, while US$10 and US$20 shall be paid by students attending high-density and low-density government schools in urban areas.
The minister also said any schools charging groceries as supplementary fees would be disciplined.
He also pleaded with Zimbabwean teachers to be patient with his ministry while it tried to source for more money from both the treasury and donor agencies.
Coltart said school levies could only be fixed after “there have been compliance with the relevant regulations that apply.
“Those include the necessity for school development committees to call meetings of parents,†he said.
“There needs to be a quorum of 20 percent of the parent body and there needs to be a majority vote in favour of the levies proposed.
“Once those levies have been approached by those parents in those meetings, the proposed levies are to be referred to the permanent secretary (of education) for his approval.â€
Out of the levies deposited, Coltart said, a 10 percent quota should be given to repairs; sports and culture; administration; teachers’ incentives; and support staff while a 15 percent quota should go towards educational materials.