Exam cheats face imprisonment

STUDENTS, teachers and school heads who engage or facilitate cheating during Zimsec examinations now face arrest and imprisonment.

The Government, through Zimsec, announced a raft of penalties to be imposed on all those involved in the malpractice such as cancellation of examination results and two years suspension from taking Zimsec examinations for candidates who cheat.

There will also be exclusion from the system for professionals who facilitate cheating, cancellation without replacement of the whole centre's results, arrests and imprisonment of students, teachers, school heads, administrators and members of the public who breach the security of the examinations.

Last year, two Churchill High pupils appeared in court after a Form Six student allegedly impersonated a Form Four pupil and wrote an Ordinary Level Shona paper 1 examination.

Practical examinations for O-Levels have already started while A-Level candidates get down to business on Monday followed by Grade Seven examinations that will get underway on September 26.

Zimsec spokesperson, Ms Nicky Dlamini said the examination body was ready to rock and roll with all systems and processes now firmly in place, adding that examination material deliveries have also been smooth.

"Zimsec is well prepared for the impending examination sessions with all systems and processes firmly in place and we are not facing any challenges with question paper distribution.

"There are indeed increased security measures which have been put in place having taken a leaf from previous sessions. Our security department is on full alert to apprehend any unscrupulous elements threatening the integrity of the examinations," said Ms Dlamini.

There are over half a million candidates this year, made up of 37 518 Advanced Level candidates, 358 290 Grade Seven candidates and 291 591 Ordinary Level candidates.

There was an increase in the number of Grade Seven and Ordinary Level candidates and a decline in Advanced Level candidates from the 2021 figure which stood at 49 128.

Last year, 325 573 candidates registered for Grade Seven with 249 914 being enrolled for Ordinary Level examinations.
"Final figures pertaining to the type of candidates (internal or external) are available at the end of the examinations when all figures are tied up by centres," said Ms Dlamini.

She said to ensure non disruption of examinations due to the erratic power cuts being experienced around the country, Zimsec was working with every key stakeholder to ensure the process flows smoothly.

"The power cuts are a national problem, however, we are working together with all stakeholders to ensure to the best of our ability, the ease of doing business," said Ms Dlamini.

Last year, Grade Seven candidates recorded a pass rate of 41,13 percent which was an increase of 4,02 percent from the 2020 pass rate. There was also an increase in the O Level examination pass rate although the figure was still disappointingly low at 26, 34 percent.

A positive percent pass was recorded for the Advanced Level examinations which was 84, 67 percent, a 3,68 percent rise from the previous year's figure.