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Top 100 O-Level schools

by Pamela Shumba
10 Feb 2015 at 06:33hrs | Views
JOHN Tallach, St Columba's, Maranatha High School, Usher, Minda, Mtshabezi, David Livingstone and Manama are the best O' Level schools in Matabeleland after recording high pass rates and being in the top 100 of the national ranking list.

According to the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) 2014 top 100 O' Level list released yesterday, the best school in the country is Monte Casino Secondary in Mashonaland East.

It is the only school that recorded a 100 percent pass rate.

In second position is Kriste Mambo Secondary also in Mashonaland East, which recorded a 98,17 percent pass rate.

Nyanga High School in Manicaland Province is in third place with a 97, 92 percent pass rate.

The top three schools in Matabeleland North are John Tallach, David Livingstone and Green Gables.

Nationally, John Tallach is ranked 11th with a 92, 96 percent pass rate.

Davis Livingstone is number 54 with 75,11  percent while Green Gables is on position 93 with 59,21 percent.

In Bulawayo, St Columba's High School proved to be the best, occupying position 29 nationally with a 86 percent pass rate, followed by Maranatha, which is on position 87 with 62,77 percent.

The two schools are the only ones that made it into the top 100 in the province.

Mtshabezi is the top O'Level school in Matabeleland South. It is ranked 32nd nationally with an 84,80 percent pass rate, followed in the province by Manama which is on position 67 with 69,23 percent.

Minda is on position 86 with 63,49 percent while Usher is at number 88 with a 62,68 percent pass rate.

In the Midlands Province, Regina Mundi claimed top spot with a 93, 48 percent pass rate qualifying it for ninth position nationally.

Chegato was second with 70 percent on position 67 nationally, followed by Hanke with 68,66 percent at number 70.

In Masvingo Province, Pamushana High School is top of the list on position 18 nationally with a 90, 71 percent pass rate.

Gokomere is number 45 with 80,15 percent while Gutu claimed position 56 with 74, 04 percent.

The pass rate ranking is based on the number of pupils who obtained grade C or better in at least five subjects.

At 22, 38 percent, the 2014 O' Level pass rate increased marginally from 22, 34 percent in 2013.

The total number of candidates examined in November 2014 was 316, 003.

Of these, 86, 308 were female candidates at formal learning institutions while 77, 545 were female private candidates.

The total number of male school candidates was 99,999 and 52,151 were male private  candidates.

The examination body's director Esau Nhandara said the average overall performance of candidates in the different subjects shows that high pass rates were recorded in Literature in English with 82,54 percent, Physics 89,08 percent, Statistics 77,96 percent, Additional Mathematics (calculator version) 79,62 percent, Home Management 82,46 percent and Computer Studies 78,43 percent.

He said large entry subjects that have 100,000 and above candidates are English Language, History, Geography, Shona, Mathematics and Integrated Science.

For English language, a 25, 1 percent pass rate was recorded.

Only 38, 63 percent candidates passed History while 41,11percent passed Geography.

The pass rate for Shona is 27, 19 percent, Mathematics 21 percent and Integrated Science 21, 9 percent.

Nhandara expressed pleasure at the seemingly low impact created on the overall pass rate by the leakages of the Mathematics and English papers last year.

He said Zimsec was committed to managing the quality assessment of candidates' learning performance.

"It's notable that the performance of candidates in the papers that were reset was comparable to the November 2013 results. We carry out academic and operational research on assessment in education to guarantee the quality of manpower for national development.

"We strongly believe that educational integrity should be at the forefront of all assessment," said Nhandara.

This, he added, is to ensure a true reflection of the status, competencies and skills of the students that are being fed into institutions of higher learning and the employment sector.


Source - chronicle