Five impersonators arrested for cheating in Zimsec exams

Sharon Masocha

FIVE adults have been arrested and brought before the courts on charges of impersonating learners sitting public examinations, while a 42-year-old teacher was arrested for allegedly leaking an Ordinary Level paper.

The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) confirmed that Ollowas Chikara, a teacher at Tsungirirai Secondary School in Masvingo, was arrested after reportedly leaking information about a Combined Science exam paper to a candidate.

Chikara, who was charged with violating Section 35(b) of the Zimsec Act, was convicted and sentenced.

Zimsec spokesperson Ms Nicky Dlamini said impersonation is an exam malpractice where someone attempts to sit an exam on behalf of a candidate.

She, however, said there were no malpractices recorded during Grade Seven examination sittings.

“Five cases of impersonation were recorded in some schools and the culprits were handed over to the police.

“They were charged under the Zimsec Act and subsequently appeared in court.”

Impersonation, Ms Dlamini said, was a serious violation of exam regulations that can undermine the integrity of the process.

This year, the number of candidates sitting O-Level exams increased to 309 624, up from 287 677 last year.

Meanwhile, the number of A-Level candidates saw a slight decrease from 35 203 to 34 280.