The Zimbabwean Government plans to establish an Independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) due to concerns over frequent exam paper leaks and inflated grades, particularly at the Advanced level.
The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Dr Evelyn Ndlovu, made this announcement during a recent National Assembly meeting where she addressed the issue of exam paper leakages.
Zimsec’s credibility has been questioned following multiple incidents of leaks during the past year’s public exams. Additionally, concerns arose regarding several candidates scoring exceptionally high grades in over three Advanced level subjects, which the public deemed as results inflation. T
he Minister proposed some measures to restore the council’s credibility, including the introduction of the Zimsec Amendment Bill to Parliament and the establishment of an inquiry commission.
She also suggested limiting the number of subjects students can take at the Advanced level to four to avoid confusion and the risk of paper leaks.
In her statement, Dr Ndlovu revealed that Zimsec identified the source of the leaks at Thokozane Secondary School in Matabeleland South Province, leading to the arrest of candidates, school officials, and ordinary citizens involved in malpractice.
She said some examination papers were leaked from a school in Matabeleland South.
“The Zimsec security worked with the Commercial Crime Division of the CID and the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) to trace the source of the leakage after the leakage was reported on 16 October from the Zvishavane area.
The team found out that the question papers in three subjects leaked from Thokozane Secondary School in Matabeleland South Province and circulated on WhatsApp and some social media platforms.
The question papers were peddled by some ordinary citizens and some Advanced level candidates charging those who needed the question papers,” said Dr Ndlovu.
She said candidates and school officials and ordinary citizens who posted question papers on WhatsApp and those that bought them were arrested and appeared in court.
“The sentences they got, however, were either community service or fines. Mr Kudakwashe Betserayi who fraudulently registered an Econet sim card in Zimsec’s name and sold question papers was arrested in Masvingo and is still on remand. The head and the deputy head of Thokozane Secondary School are still in custody in remand in Filabusi,” said Dr Ndlovu.
The head and deputy head of Thokozane Secondary School who had the keys to where the question papers were are alleged to have broken the keys which belong to the monitor and stole the examination papers and sold them to an attendant at a pharmacy in Zvishavane. The pharmacy attendant is alleged to have sold the question papers on social media platforms.
state media
