Zimpapers Logo

Professor Paul Mavhima

Pamela Shumba, Senior Reporter
THE Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) has assured all candidates who are going to re-write the Ordinary-Level English Paper 2 next Friday at boarding schools that they will get overnight accommodation and meals at the schools.

On Thursday, Government nullified the 2017 examination paper that was written last November due to widespread cheating.

Zimsec yesterday said it has engaged all boarding schools to ensure that their candidates are well catered for when they travel to the centres to re-write the examination.

The examinations body did not state who would foot the cost of accommodation and meals at the boarding schools, with its spokesperson Nicollette Dlamini referring questions on that to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.

Primary and Secondary Education Minister Professor Paul Mavhima and the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Mrs Sylvia Utete Masango were not reachable for comment.

“All 26 546 candidates registered at 181 boarding schools are assured that these centres have been engaged to enable single overnight accommodation and associated meals for this limited window.

“The remaining 243 223candidates at 2 010 registered day school examination centres are expected to present themselves at 9.30AM at the latest in preparation for the 10AM examination,” said the examinations body in a statement.

“While initial indications had been that breaches were localised, investigations through subsequent processes revealed a wider spread of the problem. The magnitude and complexity of the malpractice informed the need for appropriate escalation of investigations before implementation of this outcome in tandem with examination regulations.”

The printing of the 2018 English Language Paper 2, Zimsec said, will be concluded on Monday ahead of the paper’s delivery to centres.

Zimsec said it will take custody of all candidate scripts by 14.30PM on the same day.

“While security measures have been reviewed and augmented generally, categorised centres will collect and return their scripts under armed escort.

“Question papers will be distributed to centres in line with the original candidate registration numbers. Changes to the 2017 registration details cannot be achieved timeously and will result in distribution, material inadequacies and candidate identification challenges,” said Zimsec.

It advised candidates that there was a critical need to retake this examination as results will not be provided on the basis of Paper 1 performance in this subject.

“While Paper 1 concentrates on middle and higher order skills, Paper 2 covers the whole range from the lowest to the highest order skills and learner linguistic competence can only be fully assessed through both papers.

“Candidates are called upon to satisfy themselves that the question paper envelopes are sealed before invigilators proceed to distribute the papers to them,” said Zimsec.

The examination body said candidates who have been barred from writing the examination have already been informed and should not attempt to do so.

Candidates were advised to alert Zimsec where envelopes have been breached. — @pamelashumba1.