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Walter Mswazie Masvingo Correspondent
TWO Ordinary Level June examination candidates were forced to travel 100km from Bikita to Masvingo to sit for a Biology Paper 2 examination at night after Zimsec failed to deliver question papers to their centres on time.
The pair, the only Biology candidates in Bikita district, had registered at Chisungo High and Mangondo Secondary Schools as private candidates.
The paper was due on Tuesday last week at 2PM —but they waited in vain for the question papers to be delivered.

Fearing disqualification, the duo was forced to rush to the Zimsec provincial offices in Masvingo. Candidates can only sit examinations on the day specified on the question paper, outside which they would be disqualified.

Silas Dandira, the Zimsec  provincial manager for Masvingo, told Chronicle: “I can confirm the incident and the candidates concerned successfully wrote their examination under lights. That’s all I can say. For further details, you can contact our HR [human resources] in Harare.”

The two candidates were forced to hire a vehicle to rush them to Masvingo where they were allowed to write the examination separately between 5PM and 7PM.
A source said: “It’s more than 100km from Bikita to Masvingo, and the two boys had to endure the long distance as they didn’t have any choice.

“On arrival, they were given a chance to write their examination but it was already late. They started the examination at 5PM up to 7PM.”
It could not be established who invigilated the examination.

A senior Zimsec officer at the provincial office who requested anonymity as he was not cleared to talk to the media shifted the blame to school heads.
“The heads of the concerned centres are to blame because under such circumstances, they should have notified us on time not when the candidates are about to write the examination,” said the official.