The number, according to the statistics seen by Sunday
News, was a slight improvement from 2020 when a whopping 85 schools in the province
recorded zero percent pass rate.
According to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary
Education grading, if a pupil obtains seven units and above per subject it is
considered a fail, while six units and below is considered a pass.
The statistics showed that most satellite schools in the
province are in the zero percent pass rate bracket – 20 satellite recording
zero, while 31 registered schools also recorded zero percent pass rates.
The 20 satellite schools that recorded the zero percent
pass rates were a huge leap from only two recorded in the 2020 Grade Seven
public examinations.
Last year’s figure was anchored by registered institutions,
with 83 schools recording zero percent pass rates.
According to the statistics, the largest number of schools
that preformed dismally last year were in Bubi where 14 schools recorded zero
percent pass rates.
Ten of these were satellite schools while four were
registered schools
The second most affected district was Lupane with 13
schools obtaining zero percent pass rate (12 registered and one satellite).
The figures showed that Binga, which has traditionally
performed poorly over the years, had the least number of schools with zero
percent pass rates; only one.
In terms of overall pass rate, the province recorded 38.48
percent based on units and 22.36 percent based on subjects.
The pass rate was below the national figure of 41.3 percent
announced by the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council when results were
released last month.
According to Zimsec, the total number of candidates who sat
for the 2021 Grade 7 examinations was 325 573, which was a 0.6 percent decrease
from the 2020 entry of 327 559.
Director of Advocacy and Communication in the Ministry of
Primary and Secondary Education Mr Taungana Ndoro confirmed the Matabeleland
North Grade seven results trend.
He said while the figures might indicate a worrying trend,
the Government was encouraged by the
improve in pass rate in the province and expected even better performance as
issues that had been affecting schooling in the province are addressed.
He said while some people might see satellite schools as
under performing, there were a good idea meant to reduce distance to access to
education.
“In some provinces, learners at satellite schools are
actually performing better than those at the mother schools.
We are encouraged by the increased pass rate in
Matabeleland North province and going forward we envisage further improvement,”
he said.
The under-performance at schools in the province have over
the years come under scrutiny with stakeholders pointing to a cocktail of
problems that affect the effective delivery of education.
The main challenge, according to experts, has been the
human capital challenge. Most schools have a shortage of teachers as they shun
them due to poor infrastructure.
At some schools, the few teachers are forced to teach many
grades due to staff shortage.
A few years ago,
Sunday News reported that at one school in the province, villagers had taken
over the running of the school after all the teachers deserted the institution.
Pupils are also reportedly absconding lessons due to long
distance they have to travel to nearest institutions.
Other schools also have a shortage of textbooks and poor
accommodation facilities for teachers.
At one time, officials from the Matabeleland North
Provincial Education office noted that every term they were receiving as many
as 300 applications from teachers seeking to transfer from the province,
especially from Binga.
Some of the teachers are also not comfortable teaching in
some parts of the province due to language barriers, but the Government has
addressed the issue by setting a primary training college in Hwange which is
specifically targeted at training teachers to meet the province’s needs.
Meanwhile, statistics for Matabeleland South only showed
that pass rate in the province has been fluctuating over the years.
Based on units, the province recorded 51.41 percent pass
rate up from the 2020 figure of 40.20 percent.
In 2019, the rate was 54.43, in 2018, it was 56.90, in 2017
it was 49.39, and in 2016 it was 52.44
The figures showed that in terms of subjects the province
recorded 34.5 percent up from 26.15 in 2020.
In 2019 the province recorded 39.65 percent, in 2018 it was
43, 5 percent, and in 2017 it was 36.18 while in 2016 it was 35.66. Sunday News
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