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Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
Parliament has summoned Primary and Secondary Education Minister Cain Mathema to explain the Grade 7 pass rate decline.
The national pass rate is 37,11 percent, a drop of 9,79 percent from 2019’s 46,9 percent.
Eighty-eight schools recorded a zero percent pass rate, with these mainly in rural and resettlement areas and with 31 of them coming from Matabeleland districts.
Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda ruled during yesterday’s Question and Answer session that the Minister had to make a statement.
“The questions being raised are pertinent and the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education (must) come up with a ministerial statement on the reasons behind the low pass rate and also explain the reasons behind the poor performance by some schools,” he said.
In a statement announcing the Grade 7 results, Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council board chairman Professor Eddie Mwenje said 327 559 candidates, 167 602 girls and 159 957 boys, sat for the examinations last year, representing a 1,35 percent increase compared to the 323 207 who wrote the examination in the preceding year.
The pass rates in Shona, Ndebele, Nambya, Tshivenda, Xichangana and Kalanga were above 65 percent, Sesotho was at 54,62 percent and Tonga at 52,38 percent.
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