Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. THE Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) has poked holes into the proposed amendments to the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (Zimsec) Act saying they have little effect on credibility issues associated with the country’s examinations, among other challenges.
Cabinet approved the Zimsec Act [Chapter 28:18] (Amendment Bill, 2024) in April this year to curb examination leakages, registration irregularities and fraudulent practices within the education system.
The Bill proposes a nine-year jail term for leaking examinations.
The first reading of the Amendment Bill was done in the National Assembly and it awaits public hearings.
If passed, the law will empower Zimsec to de-register non-compliant examination centres, many of which have been flagged for unethical conduct or failure to meet minimum operating standards.
In recent years, the credibility of national public examinations has been undermined by a spate of paper leakages.
Zimta chief executive officer Sifiso Nldovu said the proposed amendments were long overdue, but noted gaps in addressing security breaches, credibility issues, governance weaknesses and outdated frameworks.
“The principal Act of 1994 has become increasingly misaligned with the contemporary demands of assessment credibility, governance accountability and international benchmarking,” Ndlovu said in submissions presented in Parliament last Thursday.
“However, while the Bill proposes commendable reforms, some areas require further strengthening and structural realignment to close systemic loopholes and improve functional resilience.”
The Bill introduces a broad and useful definition of “examination malpractice” (clause 2) and expands section 35 to cover modern forms of academic dishonesty including use of smart gadgets, script tampering and Zimta centre-level collusion.
“Classify malpractice into tiers (minor, moderate, gross) with graduated penalties,” Ndlovu said.
“A blanket minimum sentence of two years may not reflect differentiated levels of misconduct or offender status. “
Ndlovu said the Bill still vested substantial power in the Zimsec board without sufficient external oversight.
“There is no requirement for public reporting on annulments, investigations or appeals,” he said.
“Zimsec has previously acted with opacity, leading to public distrust.
“Mandate annual public disclosure of malpractice statistics, annulments and disciplinary cases.
“Establish an independent examination ombudsman to handle appeals and complaints.”
Zimbabwe has witnessed a disturbing escalation in examination leakages and system breaches over the past decade.
These include leakages in 2022 and 2023, leading to annulments and delayed results.
“In this context, the amendments are a necessary corrective, but will only be effective if implemented with stronger institutional capacity building, clear timelines, transparency and external stakeholder involvement, particularly teacher unions, parents and learners.”
Until 1997, learners sat for examinations administered by the British University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate.
The localisation of examinations has been mired in problems.
Examination paper leakages, mixing up of examination papers and doctoring of results are some of the allegations levelled against Zimsec.
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