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Minister Dokora

Harare Bureau
THE Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (Zimsec) will spend $5 million on technology to curb the leaking of exam papers.
The “gridlock technology”, which the examinations body says was used in South Africa last year, will see question papers placed in sealed boxes with security codes remotely controlled from a 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.

Zimsec’s director, Esau Nhandara, speaking in Harare yesterday following a Curriculum Evaluation Assessment meeting, 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.
“We were assured that no-one can tamper with the software because it will be controlled from the command centre,” he said.

“The system will target both the Ordinary and Advanced Level pupils but first we’re going to roll it out as a pilot project. We’ll first start with Ordinary Level exams which have the most leaked papers.

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

Zimsec has been battling recurrent leakages of examination papers. Last year, four examination papers leaked in the Midlands Province.

In 2013, the Geography and Integrated Science exam papers leaked again in the same province.

Zimsec’s assistant director for examinations Sebastian Chandiza said the technology can record attempts to tamper with it.

“Gridlock technology is a box the size of a briefcase and each box carries all question papers of an examination centre. If we lock the system, the technology system prohibits anyone from opening the box before the allotted time.

“It registers all the attempts one makes because it’s controlled from the command centre which is Zimsec. The technology is now with a local company in the name of Dvsol,” he said.

Primary and Secondary Education Minister Lazarus Dokora said no final decision had been made on the software.

“It’s a matter still in incubation, but in principle, this is the correct thing to do. We shouldn’t fight technology, we should embrace it,” he said