Tawanda Musariri
The Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council yesterday evening released the 2018 Ordinary Level results. The 2018 examinations were the first under the new education curriculum.
Professor Eddy Mwenje, the Chairman of the Zimsec board broke the news flanked by the Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Professor Paul Mavima and the Zimsec Director Dr Lazarus Nembaware.
“On behalf of the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council Board and Management, it gives me great pleasure to advise the nation of the release of the November 2018 ZIMSEC Ordinary Level Examinations results. The 2018 November Ordinary Level Examination was the first on the new curriculum introduced by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education,” said Prof Mwenje.
Statistics released by the examinations body showed a 32.83% pass rate from 239 441 candidates with males outperforming females in performance. Males scored 32.35% against females’ 30.04%. School candidates had a 32.83% pass rate compared to external candidates’ dismal 14.3%. The 2018 pass rate bettered the 2017 performance of 28.7 percent with a straight 4.13 percent.
“The total number of candidates who sat for the November 2018 Ordinary Level examination was 239 441. This is 29.98% less than the candidates who entered for the 2017 November examination session which was 332 473. The rise in the 2017 entry was as a result of a rush by candidates to write the last ‘O’ level examination on the old curriculum,” said Prof Mwenje.
Continued Prof Mwenje, “I wish to express my deep gratitude to schools, setters of question paper items, markers, and our candidates for the professional approach which they exhibited in the November 2018 Ordinary Level examination processes. I wish to further mention ZIMSEC Management and staff and our Honourable Minister, Professor P.V Mavima and his team in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education for the support we received during this examination. I also wish to thank the parents and members of the public for supporting the examination system. It takes all of us to run a credible examination system. I recognize the members of the media who are here and thank them for constructive reporting during the examination processes.”
Minister Mavima said Government is in the process of mobilizing resources to capacitate the new curriculum as it came with new and expanded learning areas. For the first time, professor Mavima said, new languages like chiKalanga and tshiVenda were being examined for the first time. He also said resources are going to be ploughed into newly resettled and rural areas to improve the teaching and learning quality. He said his ministry was going to continue lobbying treasury to open teaching vacancies so as to reduce the learner-teacher ratio.
