No resit for leaked exams

ORDINARY Level examination candidates will not resit Mathematics Paper One, which leaked in Gweru last week, as the security breach did not affect the entire country, an official has said.Zimbabwe Teachers' Association (Zimta) chief executive Mr Sifiso Ndlovu said the association and education authorities took the decision at a meeting in Harare.

Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister Professor Paul Mavhima referred further inquries to the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec).
Zimsec director, Mr Esau Nhandara, in turn, told our Harare Bureau that he would provide written responses.

He had not, however, responded by late yesterday afternoon.

Mr Ndlovu said: "The paper leaked at a very small centre and only a few candidates were affected. Therefore, we and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education resolved that there was no need for candidates to resit the examination."

Most candidates were apprehensive about resitting Mathematics Paper One after authorities discovered it had been leaked.

Six people including a school head and his deputy, were arrested for allegedly leaking three O-level November examinations.

The six people, including a school head and his deputy, have appeared in court for allegedly leaking three Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (Zimsec) Ordinary Level November examinations.

The leaked examination papers are Mathematics Paper One, Integrated Science Paper Three and Commerce Paper Two.

Clever Chimuka (32), a headmaster at Whata Secondary School in Lower Gweru and his deputy Thulani Nkomo (34); Praise Dube (31), a Mathematics teacher at a private college in Gweru; Shepherd Munjanja (43), a cook at Mkoba Teachers' college; Bismarck Gumbo (24) and Brighton Tamboona (22), both student teachers at the same college, were arraigned before Gweru magistrate Mr Tendai Madanhire for criminal abuse of office and leaking Zimsec examinations.

The six were remanded out of custody on $100 bail each to 14 November for trial.

Mr Madanhire advised the accused persons not to interfere with State witnesses until the matter is concluded.

For the State, Miss Yeukai Mugumba alleged that on 25 October this year, Chimuka connived with his deputy, Nkomo, to open envelopes of the three examination papers and give them to Dube, a teacher at Presbyterian Private College in Gweru.

She alleged that Chimuka and Nkomo sold copies of handwritten examination papers to candidates in and around Gweru while Dube gave some of the copies to Munjanja, who sold them for $40 to student teachers who were sitting for O-level Mathematics at the college.

The court heard that Munjanja gave some copies to Gumbo and Tamboona, who were part of a group of student teachers supposed to sit for the O-level Mathematics exam under Government's bridging programme for teachers without Maths.

Miss Mugumba told the court that the matter came to light on 27 October soon after candidates sat for Mathematics Paper One, when authorities at Mkoba Teachers' College got a tip-off from some students that the paper had leaked.

The matter was reported to the police leading to the arrest of Munjanja, Gumbo and Tamboona after they were found in possession of the handwritten examination questions.

Miss Mugumba further alleged that the trio went on to implicate Chimuka, Nkomo and Dube who were subsequently arrested and found in possession of the leaked examination papers.

Zimsec might have to reset the leaked papers.

Last year a school head at Njeremoto Secondary School in Sesombe Resettlement area in Zhombe, Vimbai Manaka, was arrested together with Bonaventure Mungwiro (42), a teacher at Manunure High in Kwekwe; Berbnadino Mungwiro (40), a teacher at Munyati High in Kwekwe; William Gondo, a student from Midlands State University; Michael Chiridzo (40) and Lloyd Mpofu, who are both teachers at Chiridzo Private College in Mbizo, Kwekwe, for leaking Geography Paper Two and Integrated Science Paper Two.