ADMINISTRATION OF THE ORDINARY AND ADVANCED LEVEL EXAMINATIONS FOR NOVEMBER 2009
Statement by Senator David Coltart, Minister of Education, Sport Arts and Culture
1st October 2009
On 18th August 2009 my Ministry announced the levies for examination fees for ‘A’ and ‘O’. This was after consultation with the relevant stakeholders. The fees were meant to enable ZIMSEC to effectively administer the examination process. The deadline for the payment and registration was initially set for 11th September 2009 but was later extended to Friday the 25th September 2009 to enable parents/guardians to pay. Regrettably, many Parents and Guardians of Examinations candidates failed to meet deadlines citing economic difficulties.
Consequently I have reviewed the position and have held extensive discussions with the management of Zimsec and the Ministry of Finance.
Sensitive to the plight of Parents and Guardians which would have adversely affected the academic future of the prospective candidates it has now been agreed that the Ministry of Finance will mobilise financial resources as advance payment to Zimsec and a loan to enable all prospective candidates to sit for the November ‘O’ and ‘A’ level Public Examinations.
Henceforth every prospective candidate is advised to proceed urgently and register with their examination centres with which they will make arrangements for repayment of the loan.
All Heads of Examination Centers are, with this announcement, instructed to accommodate these prospective candidates who should pay by monthly instalments up to the end of January 2010. It must be emphasized that this assistance can be given up to six subjects at ‘O’ level and three subjects at ‘A’ level.
The deadline for this window ends at 4pm on Friday 16 October 2009.
It is my hope that this arrangement will assist those children who have not been able to register to date because of financial difficulties.
Regrettably this arrangement may result in some further delays in the commencement of the examinations but it was felt that this was a price worth paying to ensure that as many students can write the examinations as possible. Zimsec will advise the public shortly when they anticipate that the examinations will begin.
I should stress that we are in the process of stabilising the entire education sector which has been in a chaotic state. Inevitably this has resulted in decisions of this nature. It is my hope that as we fully stabilise the sector in the coming months this type of action will become a thing of the past.
I encourage all students to now focus on their examinations to achieve the best results possible.