The stiff measures by Zimsec come after 5 156 Advanced and
Ordinary level candidates’ results were nullified for having pre-access to
examination papers in the October to December 2022 national examinations, with
suspicion that some school heads made the papers available to candidates before
the exams.
The A-Level results were released on 13 January with Zimsec
withholding results for 195 candidates while the ‘O’ Levels ones, where results
for 4 961 candidates were nullified, came out on Friday.
Zimsec board chairperson Professor Eddie Mwenje told Sunday
News yesterday that the examination body was committed to upholding the
integrity of the country’s examination system and any deviant behaviour will be
met with severe punishment.
“As you might be aware, there are some headmasters that are
alleged to have opened examination papers. If that was a distribution centre,
it means it would receive papers before the date of the examination, we will
deregister them from being a centre.
Also, if it comes out that the administration there was
involved, the Ministry (of Primary and Secondary Education) will take the
necessary action.”
Prof Mwenje said after the compilation of the list they
will have a clear picture of how many examination centres were complicit in the
examination malpractice and they will be de-registered, which means they will
cease to be distribution centres and will not administer Zimsec examinations.
“Centres have to register and qualify to administer Zimsec
examinations. They have to adhere to Zimsec principles. If they fail to adhere,
we simply deregister them, they will have proved their unsuitability and if the
headmaster is corrupt, we do not have the capacity to remove them because we do
not employ them, their employer will deal with them.
If these are private schools we just say until you put your
things in order you cannot be a centre, so the students have to write the
examinations somewhere else.”
Zimsec director Dr Lazarus Nembabware concurred with Prof
Mwenje.
“You would appreciate that results have just come out. We
are therefore in the process of fact-gathering to identify all examination
centres that were complicit in the examination malpractice. When our
investigations are done, we will name them and deregister them,” said Dr
Nembabware.
He, however, could not be drawn into mentioning the
timelines but hinted that it should be before the next national examinations.
“I cannot give you a specific time-frame because after we
are done with the process, we take our work to the examination committee which
is responsible for the examination which then recommends to the main board what
action should be taken, but of course most of the centres who leaked
examination papers will be deregistered.”
He added that Zimsec was committed to ensuring that all
leakages of examination papers were plugged out and would do everything in its
power to tighten its security systems.
Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education director of
communications and advocacy, Mr Taungana Ndoro applauded Zimsec for putting
measures in place to tighten security and improve the manner in which
examinations in the country were handled.
“We are behind Zimsec. We want them to do their job without
interference. Let them investigate and bring out their findings and we will
advise on our recommendations,” he said. Sunday News
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