adminRay Bande Senior Reporter
A TOTAL of 852 candidates who sat for the November Ordinary Level exams in Manicaland last year attained 5As and above, amid continued domination by mission schools in a cursory qualitative analysis of the results released this week.
The 2015 Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council Ordinary Level results saw the national pass rate improving by five percent.
A total of 310 917 candidates sat for the November exams nationwide and of that figure 156 418 were school candidates. Over 27 percent of this category passed with Grade C or better in five subjects.
Manicaland Provincial Education Director, Mr Edward Shumba, said that a total of 852 candidates who sat for the November Ordinary Level exams in Manicaland last year attained 5As and above.
Mr Shumba also confirmed that high scoring St Faith’s maintained their top spot with a total of 117 candidates scooping 5As and above, while St David’s Bonda High came second with 92 candidates attaining 5As and above.
“I can safely say the standards have gone up from last year and we are really excited about that development. St Faith’s are still leading the pack in terms of candidates with 5As and above. Therefore as Manicaland we have the right to lead while others follow.
“It is against that background that I want to warn teachers, parents and students here in Manicaland that they should work even harder as we go into the future because all others are eager to surpass the high standards we have set over the years,” he said.
A cursory analysis of the results show that mission schools are still dominating qualitatively, while day schools like St Dominic’s in Mutare have greatly improved.
“I am impressed with the performance of day schools like St Dominic’s here in Mutare. They have posted good results and it is unlike in the past when day schools were regarded as inferior to boarding schools,” said Mr Shumba.
St Augustine’s had 81 candidates with 5As and above, while Kriste Mambo had 80.
Marist Brothers of Nyanga weighed in fifth position with a total of 59 candidates with 5As and above, while Nyanga Adventist had 51 candidates with 5As and above.
Hartzell had 42.
A total of 38 candidates came out with 5As and above at Marange High, while St Emmanuel of Nyanga had 32.
On 11th position was Nyashanu which had 24 candidates with 5As and above.
“This was just a qualitative analysis based on the schools with candidates that came out with 5As and above. We will give details of a thorough analysis after we get accurate information from the districts in three weeks time.
“It is also important to note that this is based on November results because some candidates might have sat for the June exams before they sat for the November exams and got As in other subjects,” said Mr Shumba.
Schools with most candidates with 5As and above came from mainly in Makoni, Nyanga and Mutasa districts, while those in other districts such as Chipinge and Chimanimani did not match the standards.
With a total of 12, Chibuwe High had the highest number of candidates with 5As and above in Chipinge district, while Mt Selinda High from the same district had 11. Gaza High had three.
In Chimanimani District, Mutambara High had the highest number of candidates with 5As and above after a total of 15 of their candidates achieved that feat, while Biriiri had nine. Lydia Chimonyo had seven.
Schools in Mutare urban also did fairly well with Mutare Boys’ High getting a total of 16 candidates scoring 5As and above, while St Joseph’s in Sakubva had 14. Holy Ghost had 13, while Mutare Girls’ High had seven. Sakubva High had four.
Online Reporter