Sunday News
By Lulu Brenda Harris
4th October 2009
This year’s public examinations are likely to be written as late as December because of printing problems, a Cabinet minister revealed last Thursday.
In an interview in Bulawayo, the Minister of Education, Spors, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, said his ministry had only recently engaged a firm that would print examination papers for both Ordinary and Advanced levels because of the extensions granted for payment of fees and those students who had registered were likely to write examinations in December.
He said the papers, that are being printed by a South African company, would only be ready after 35 days.
“We have engaged a South African company to print our examination papers. All along they have been waiting for us to send the exact number of candidates, which we only did last week on 28 September. The production and submission of the printed examination papers would only be done after 35 days,’’ said Senator Coltart.
Non-examination classes in Zimbabwean schools usually close during the first week of December for the Christmas holiday and examinations usually end late November marking the beginning of a long holiday for candidates. The Ministry last Friday extended the examination registration deadline to 16 October 2009.
Senator Coltart said the commencement of the examinations could be further delayed by logistics such as the distribution of the examination papers to their respective centres.
He also touched on last year’s problems, where examiners were not paid on time, compromising the entire examination process, and said that ghost still haunted public examinations.
“All these problems have compromised the usual examination deadline. Last year the markers did not get full allowances and that delayed the release of results,†said Senator Coltart.
Results of all public examinations written last year, from Grade Seven to Advanced Level, were only released late this year and the minister attributed this to logistical problems that plagued the examination board. Despite these challenges, Senator Coltart, however, assured candidates that his ministry was working flat out to avoid last year’s scenario where the quality of the examination results was poor.
“One hundred percent of last year’s candidates were prejudiced. I am desperate to avoid the same problems especially when 60 percent of those who sat for the examinations last year registered again this year. It’s not about achieving a 100 percent success rate but hoping to organise a 60 percent success rate as compared to a complete 100% failure last year to meet deadlines,” he said.
The Minister said for the country to maintain its integrity in the education sector, there was a need for precision in time limits, number of candidates that might be sitting for the examinations in that particular year and above all meeting deadlines.
“We have to establish precisely what subjects are registered for, number of examination centres and the number of candidates writing, so precision was needed before we could send the exact information to the printers in South Africa,” the Minister said.
Senator Coltart bemoaned the fact that this year they have had to extend registration deadline. The deadline for registering for examinations has always been in the first term for both June and November examinations.
Most parents and students are complaining that the registration and examination fees are too high. Ordinary Levels examinations fees are pegged at US$10 per subject and Advanced Level fees are US$20 per subject. Students have to pass five subjects at O Level to proceed to A Level or college and two subjects at A Level to proceed to university.