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Abigail Mawonde Harare Bureau
THE Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has with immediate effect stopped publicising the top 100 schools ranked by their performance at Ordinary and A’ Level national examinations. It had become tradition that each year the ministry announces the best 100 schools. This helped parents in choosing the best schools for placement of their children.

Yesterday, the ministry said announcement of the best 100 schools was serving no purpose under the new education curriculum framework.

The ministry’s public relations officer Patrick Zumbo said the ranking was for academic purposes only.

“Top 100 schools ranking has stopped. It doesn’t serve any purpose for the new curriculum. The ranking was for academic purposes only. We feel it is unfair because it does not cover all the facets of learning which now happens in schools as part of the new curriculum,” he said.

“We now have schools which are teaching performing arts, sports, music and dance and physical education. Are we saying those subjects are inferior to the academic ones which the ranking was based on?”

Zumbo said the rankings also created unnecessary pressure for schools topping the list as parents scrambled for places.
He dismissed a list of the same circulating on the internet as fake.

“It’s a creation by mischievous people. Zimsec (Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council) has been advised to stop the rankings and I don’t think the one circulating is coming from Zimsec,” said Zumbo.