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THE Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council was established in 1994 through the Zimsec Act following the government’s decision to localise examinations. Prior to 1994, local exams were administered by the University of Cambridge of the United Kingdom. Zimsec, which falls under the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, is an internationally accredited examinations board.

Since its establishment, Zimsec has been dogged by exam paper leaks which have been blamed on poor handling of exam papers. The examinations board has over the years been forced to re-set some question papers following leakages. Those involved in exam leakages are usually teachers wanting to make money by selling the question papers while others leak the exam papers to improve their pupils’ pass rate.

A number of teachers have either been dismissed from service or jailed for leaking exam papers. Leakages have proved very costly as the examinations board is forced to spend unbudgeted money to re-set leaked papers. It is against this background that we want to welcome plans by Zimsec to spend $5 million on technology meant to curb the leaking of exam papers.

The “gridlock technology” which the examinations board says was used in South Africa last year, will see question papers placed in sealed boxes with security codes remotely controlled from the command centre at the Zimsec Head Office. The electronic boxes open simultaneously nationwide at a prescribed time and date of writing of an examination.

Headmasters from all the 2,500 Ordinary Level and Advanced Level centres in the country will only be able to open the boxes using the electronic system. The Zimsec director, Esau Nhandara, said the system though expensive was the solution to exam paper leaks. “The gridlock technology is a programmed locking system. We aim to introduce it this year and it is the best control we can have,” said Nhandara.

He said the examinations board was assured that no-one could tamper with the software because it was controlled from the command centre. Nhandara said the new system was meant for both Ordinary and Advance Level pupils but will be rolled out first as a pilot project. He said first to be run under the new system will be Ordinary Level exams which are the most leaked papers.

“We want to implement the new system this year but it’s a mammoth task in terms of budget because we require at least $5 million,” said Nhandara.

We totally agree with Nhandara that raising $5 million is a big challenge but if the new system is the solution to exams leaks, the government has an obligation to find the money.

Zimsec has over the years been battling recurrent leakages of examination papers and this cannot be allowed to continue. The leaking of exam papers adversely affects the credibility of exams and a solution should just be found.

The challenge to Zimsec is to ensure that the proposed new system works even in the remotest parts of Zimbabwe. The effects of a system failure given its centralised nature are too ghastly to contemplate.

We want at this juncture to implore the government to without delay test the system and if it is satisfied it works, start mobilising the required resources as soon as possible. Zimsec should put a stop to exam paper leaks and if it means investing $5 million, so be it.