Zimsec has
gazetted the Bill to amend the existing law, which obligates access to the
fundamental right to education and the establishment and regulation of schools,
the conduct of examinations and provides for the well-being of students and
teachers.
In a statement
yesterday, Fozeu secretary-general Obert Masaraure said the amendments only
addressed examination leakages and malpractices by expanding the scope of
offences, increasing penalties and introducing institutional accountability
while sidelining important technicalities.
“The Act is
silent on the whistle-blower framework and the protection of the same. Most
examination malpractices go unreported because there is no clear reporting
framework.
"The
amendment fails to integrate the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education in
the value chain of the examinations,” he said.
Masaraure said
the Bill needed to accommodate the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education
(MoPSE) as it has more personnel with potential to assist with the plugging of
holes necessitating the leakages along the value chain.
“Devolving the
management of examinations through MoPSE would bring the management closer to
communities and make Zimsec more responsive to challenges of malpractices.
“The Zimsec
remains detached from the real running of exams and will not be able to tackle
the cancer of malpractices.”
Masaraure said
the Bill failed to mandate the remuneration for invigilators and other critical
players in the examination value chain.
“The Bill is
silent on tackling the perennial crisis of delayed payment for examiners. Low
morale among invigilators and examiners threatens the integrity of
examinations.
“The Bill fails
to align the Zimsec Act to both the Education Act and the Constitution. The
laws of Zimbabwe now provide for State-funded basic education.
“The
examination process is part of the education system and the Act should
articulate the disbursement model of funds from Treasury to Zimsec for the
running of public examinations.”
He said section
21, subsection (1), paragraph (c) of the Act should be repealed, saying
students should not be made to pay examination fees.
“The Bill is
silent on how to efficiently integrate continuous assessment into the
examination system. The wording and structure of the Zimsec Act were for the
final examinations, not the new system, which includes continuous assessment.
Integrity of continuous assessment is an area demanding some intervention,”
Masaraure said.
He said the
Bill also failed to cut unnecessary expenditure and is likely to lead to the
ballooning of expenditure.
“The creation
of the office of the chief executive officer is usually accompanied by an
upgrade of the office to a better salary scale.
“Increasing
mandatory board meetings will also add another cost burden. The board is not
involved in the running of Zimsec.
“The role of
the board is policy formulation. Two meetings per year are enough for the body
to guide the CEO and the team.”
He added that
the inclusion of experts in the Zimsec board was also an unnecessary
expenditure.
“The Bill,
therefore, fails to address all the challenges facing the examination system.
Citizens should participate in hearings to give their views on the Bill. This
is an opportunity to protect the integrity of the examinations,” Masaraure
said. Newsday
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