News / National
Zimsec saga: Teachers threaten demonstration
13 Feb 2018 at 05:54hrs | Views
Civil servants have threatened to down tools tomorrow in protest over Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec)'s decision to force 2017 Ordinary Level pupils to resit the English Paper 2 examinations this Friday.
Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Raymond Majongwe yesterday confirmed the planned demonstration.
"The demonstration will take place in Harare on Wednesday where we will march and deliver a petition to the minister (Primary and Secondary Education minister Paul Mavhima) at their offices. We are saying the rewriting of the examination is illegal, unacceptable, unfortunate and will never be allowed to happen,'' he said.
Mavhima last week announced government's decision to have the paper 2 rewritten this Friday after the results were nullified after it was discovered by authorities that widespread cheating took place.
The decision led to a public outcry that forced the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights to take government and the national examination body to court. The matter was heard yesterday.
"The government must look at the cause of the problem and the culprits must be punished," he said.
Majongwe said they made noise when issues of leakages came up, but nothing was done.
"The integrity that the Zimsec group and the ministry is trying to protect will never be protected as long as these issues are not addressed. There are some who are visually-impaired and those who do not have access to phone, who are now being punished with everyone because of a small leakage that has happened at Zimsec," he said.
Meanwhile, Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume said his party would also join tomorrow's demonstration. The protest come as some parents have taken Zimsec to court seeking nullification of the decision.
Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Raymond Majongwe yesterday confirmed the planned demonstration.
"The demonstration will take place in Harare on Wednesday where we will march and deliver a petition to the minister (Primary and Secondary Education minister Paul Mavhima) at their offices. We are saying the rewriting of the examination is illegal, unacceptable, unfortunate and will never be allowed to happen,'' he said.
Mavhima last week announced government's decision to have the paper 2 rewritten this Friday after the results were nullified after it was discovered by authorities that widespread cheating took place.
"The government must look at the cause of the problem and the culprits must be punished," he said.
Majongwe said they made noise when issues of leakages came up, but nothing was done.
"The integrity that the Zimsec group and the ministry is trying to protect will never be protected as long as these issues are not addressed. There are some who are visually-impaired and those who do not have access to phone, who are now being punished with everyone because of a small leakage that has happened at Zimsec," he said.
Meanwhile, Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume said his party would also join tomorrow's demonstration. The protest come as some parents have taken Zimsec to court seeking nullification of the decision.
Source - newsday
