Online Reporter
Our public examinations system has faced a few challenges in recent years, especially through leakage of papers and unauthorised people seeking to, or actually writing, the tests on behalf of registered candidates.
Leakages happened as a result of school heads or other gate keepers getting carried away to think they can make money out of it.
Fraud happened with educators involved or the registered candidate making an arrangement with an unauthorised person to write the public examination for them without the knowledge of school authorities.
While in most cases, the culprits have been caught and punished, the breaches exacted considerable harm on the integrity of our examination system, even on the local education system more broadly, especially abroad.
The Government has moved in by drafting the Zimbabwe School Examinations Amendment Bill, 2024, which seeks to boost security measures around examinations and stem the infractions.
We report elsewhere today that the Bill proposes amendments to the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) Act to effectively deal with exam paper leakages, irregularities in registration, and fraudulent conduct at various examination centres across the country.
“Under the legislative programme, Cabinet considered and approved the Zimbabwe School Examinations Amendment Bill. The decision to amend the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council Act (Chapter 25:18) is intended to address challenges in the education sector, particularly exam leakages, registration anomalies, and fraudulent practices at certain examination centres nationwide,” Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere said yesterday.
If approved, the law will also ensure Zimsec is fully equipped to prevent and deal with the malpractices, provide for de-registration of non-compliant examination centres and introduce tougher penalties on transgressors.
Authorities have done well by initiating this process, which will ensure that the good reputation of our education system is maintained and further improved.
It will be a good idea if all the arms of Government involved in the law-making process, right to Parliament, fast-track this proposed piece of legislation so that it begins governing the examination system by the time this year’s September to November public examinations begin.
It will take a few months for the equipping of Zimsec to be done, but there will be no harm if the body and the Government itself begin the process now in anticipation of the enactment of the law.
In terms of the punishment that the law will provide for, we hope that it, indeed, would be deterrent. We have seen some school heads, teachers and other officials caught on the wrong side of the law being sacked for that.
However, we think dismissal is not really tough enough given the seriousness of their offences.
If the proposed law provides for a jail term for the culprits, in addition to obvious dismissal that would provide enough deterrence.
derick.khumalo