adminFreedom Mupanedemo Midlands Correspondent
PRIMARY schools in the Midlands Province performed beyond expectations in last year’s Grade Seven Examinations with 15 of them recording a 100 percent pass rate while the lowest scored more than a 60 percent pass rate. The performance of the Midlands schools in the Grade Seven examinations is in direct contrast to the results recorded in neighbouring provinces of Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South where some schools reportedly scored a zero percent pass rate.
Although in Bulawayo, the overall pass rate was 78,6 percent, officials said schools situated in peri-urban areas reportedly recorded poor results.
In Matabeleland South, six primary schools, Glass Block 2, Gobadema, Matshetsheni, Ngoma, Tshongwe and Zelezele scored a zero percent pass rate in the examinations, drawing the ire of the villagers and education authorities.
Commenting on the good results in the Midlands Province, the provincial education director, Mrs Agnes Gudo, commended primary school teachers especially those in rural areas for doing a good job.
According to the results analysis the lowest ranked school scored more than a 60 percent pass rate while 15 schools recorded a 100 percent pass rate.
Of the 136 primary schools in the province, the least ranked school, Kaguvi in Kwekwe district had three candidates who sat for the examinations and they managed to register 66,6 percent pass rate.
Tied at the bottom is Grasslands Primary again in Kwekwe District, which had 24 candidates and it scored a 66, 6 percent pass rate.
A total of 15 primary schools, six of them in rural areas some as remote as Mberengwa and Gokwe scored a 100 percent pass rate.
Among those, which scored a 100 percent pass rate are Sandawana Primary in Mberengwa, Marian Evora (Mberengwa), St Paul’s Gokwe in Gokwe South District, CZM Primary (Gokwe South), Muzavezi (Shurugwi District) and Connemara Primary on the outskirts of Gweru.
Mrs Gudo said she was happy that the province recorded a good pass rate with rural schools competing with affluent schools situated in towns and cities.
“What is interesting and sweet is that as a province we are working very hard and even those schools in rural areas are striving to emulate those in cities and towns. This is all because of hard work and commitment from our teaching staff. They should continue to work with such a positive spirit,” she said.
The competition and quest for excellence in the Midlands province is so high that some affluent schools and former Group A schools like Cecil John Rhodes and Sternly, both in Gweru, found themselves stuck at number 16 and 20 in terms of ranking.
Other highly rated primary schools, Gold Ridge and RJ Davies, all of Kwekwe, also found the competition tough and settled for number 26 and 31.
Said Mrs Gudo: “Overall we performed very well as a province. We got schools in remote areas such as Mberengwa and Gokwe which performed very well and this is encouraging.”
Online Reporter