Zimsec exams face credibility threat

By Kundai Marunya

The on-going Zimbabwe School Examination Council (Zimsec) exams are facing a serious credibility threat as the current sitting has been marred by many flaws.
At different examination centres around the country, there are shortages of examination papers and supporting material, which has seen students writing in batches.
This has left serious loopholes for cheating.
Already there are allegations that invigilators, who are poorly remunerated, have been leaking the paper to students writing the exam later in the day in exchange for monetary rewards.
Some of the material that comes in short supply is also being printed at exam centres, also leaving loopholes for leakages.
Zimsec public relations officer Nicholette Dhlamini, however, told Nhau that the problems were only minor.
“Yes, we sometimes experience examination paper shortages but they are not major shortages as purported. It’s usually three or four papers, and sometimes a maximum of 10,” said Dlamini.
She said Covid-19 lockdown disturbed the registration process resulting in the flawed system.
“You should understand there has been a lot of movement of candidates and registration was also disturbed by Covid -19. If you remember, last year registration happened when it was already lockdown,” she said.
“What has happened in some centres is that there are candidates who would not have completed filling out their registration discs the schools would have sent to us. We send question papers according to the information we would have received.”
Despite inaccuracies in registration, Government demanded for the examinations to go forward.
“As you know, the Ministry of Education said that all candidates should be allowed to write examinations and then we will regularise the registration afterwards. It could be an issue that it’s just irregularity between what was sent to us by the centre and the true candidature of the centre,” said Dhlamini.
“Every centre has a handbook which stipulates the regulations that they are supposed to follow. There are reports that are meant to be written and they need to contact regional offices.
“A regional officer will then attend to the scene and they will make sure that papers for the extras are availed because we cannot allow for the reproduction as it’s a malpractice issue. There are procedures that need to be followed but the candidates will always write.”
The irregularities have created a bad image which sees the generality of Zimbabweans, candidates included, dismissing the examinations as a sham.
Stakeholders, especially parents and teacher unions, called for the postponement of exams since students had only attended school for a few months due to Covid-19 restrictions and industrial action.
Online classes introduced by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education fell short of addressing educational needs as most students in poor communities could not afford data let alone internet compatible gadgets.
Meanwhile, Zimsec is said to be facing invigilator shortage as it has failed to pay for the service.
Some teachers who were supposed to be part of invigilation have refused to participate in the exams for fear of contracting Covid-19 and poor compensation.
“The major challenges being faced by most teachers is of being forced to invigilate students who were not tested,” said Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) Mashonaland West provincial chair Munyaradzi Ndawana.
“The teachers themselves were not tested and they are at risk of contracting Covid-19. Teachers are not being paid invigilating allowances which Zimsec is supposed to pay them as was agreed by all teacher unions way back in 2019. What is surprising is that the same Zimsec is paying the markers as well as item writers.”
Ndawana said the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for invigilators is another challenge teachers are facing.
“Another challenge is that most invigilators are not protected with PPE and are exposed to Covid-19 on their way to and from exam centres.
“Most of them use public transport to work and sometimes they are being harassed by police and soldiers who ask them for exemptions letters in a derogatory manner,” he said.
Teachers are also faced with a mammoth task of maintaining order and normalcy at schools, yet their numbers are simply inadequate to ensure school rules are followed all the time.
A deputy headmaster from Chemhanza has since been arrested on allegations of assaulting students to instill discipline.
“Another challenge is of the exam class learners who have since become difficult to control and instill discipline in as compared to the previous years,” said Ndawana.
“In particular, learners at boarding schools are now difficult to control and those who also learn in rural boarding schools are now engaging in drinking home brewed alcoholic beverages.” Nhau/Indaba