Zimpapers Logo

The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) has a vision to create an Information Communication Technology (ICT) driven organisation and has taken great strides towards the realisation of this vision.

E-registration of candidates was upgraded this year in all centres to increase efficiency and add more features to the system. This registration basically takes away the manual movement of paper work by having all candidates and their information placed on a disc.

This disc is handed over to Zimsec for the process of registering the centre candidates into the main examinations system. To ensure correct usage of the software, Zimsec has a team of trained staff who conduct trainings and workshops for all centre heads and their computer operators.

E-marking has become a strength which other examinations boards in our region and possibly the broader Africa are taking a leaf from. Every year, Zimsec hosts groups from other examination boards coming to understudy and learn during our live e-marking sessions.

The adoption of e-marking for most subjects has cut down the marking time and has put in stop-gap measures to ensure quality assessment which is tracked and dependable. Zimsec is introducing the E Marker II, which will see more subject components being marked electronically.

The Grade Maker is another advancement which brings efficiency and security to educational assessment. It not only allows the assessor to write items and bank them online, it also aids in the compilation of the set papers.

It allows access to archived information which helps inform those in charge of the processes to quickly see how topics, subtopics and skills have been assessed in the past.

This knowledge can feed into improving item authoring. It will also reduce human interface with complete scripts enhancing security levels of the examinations process. Zimsec launched the Grade Maker on October 11, 2016. This advancement is in line with the goal of enhancing security and confidentiality.As a nation, ICT has become a fundamental base for all commerce and industry in the realisation of the national transformation plan. As Zimsec, we are looking at taking greater strides towards being driven by technology, in standard assessment practices and in the enhancement of security of examinations.

Website: www.zimsec.co.zw; WhatsApp: 0772768817; FB: Zimbabwe School Examinations Council- Zimsec Public Relations.