Online Reporter
Zvamaida Murwira, Senior Reporter
LEGISLATORS will now have to sit and address President Mnangagwa’s concerns over the Zimbabwe School Examinations (ZIMSEC) Bill before it can be enacted after he referred it back to Parliament, it has been learnt.
The Bill, which seeks to tighten security around national examinations, has been recommitted to the Committee of the Whole House, where Members of Parliament (MPs) will now have to work through the President’s concerns clause by clause.
A Committee of the Whole House is a formal assembly comprising every single member of the legislative chamber sitting together as a committee rather than as the full House.
Among its key objectives, the Bill seeks to strengthen exam security, increase penalties for cheating and stop exam paper leakages, while also creating new offences to target modern forms of academic dishonesty such as the use of smart devices and collusion at examination centres.
It is expected to help Government address malpractices that have periodically disrupted the integrity of the examination system, including leaked papers.
Clerk of Parliament Mr Kennedy Chokuda confirmed the referral, saying the National Assembly would now have to work through the issues flagged by the President.
“I can confirm that His Excellency, the President, has referred back the Zimsec Amendment Bill to Parliament. This means Parliament will have to consider the issues he raised. The President referred the Bill to Parliament in terms of the Constitution,” said Mr Chokuda.
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Ms Tsitsi Gezi formally notified the House of the development on Thursday.
“I have to inform the House that His Excellency, the President, has referred back to Parliament the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council Amendment Bill [H. B. 4A, 2025] in terms of Section 131 (6) (b) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. Accordingly, the Bill shall be recommitted to the Committee of the Whole House,” said Ms Gezi.
Section 131(6)(b) of the Constitution empowers the President to refer a Bill back to Parliament through the Clerk of Parliament if the President considers it unconstitutional or has other reservations, providing detailed written reasons and a request for reconsideration.
In considering the President’s reservations, the Constitution provides that the National Assembly must either fully accommodate them and return the Bill for his assent or pass the Bill — with or without amendments — by a two-thirds majority of the total membership of the National Assembly.
Once the Bill is presented back to the President, the Constitution provides that he must sign it despite those reservations or refer it to the Constitutional Court for advice on its constitutionality.
The Bill has already undergone significant changes during earlier debate in Parliament, where MPs adopted tougher penalties for examination cheats while approving an elaborate appeal mechanism for candidates or examination centres aggrieved by decisions made by Zimsec over malpractice.
Legislators agreed to raise the maximum penalty for exam malpractice from the initially proposed two years to five years.
They also added a clause allowing an aggrieved candidate or examination centre to appeal an adverse decision — such as deregistration — to the responsible minister.
Clause 8 of the Bill was amended to increase penalties for a range of offences, including impersonating a candidate, unlawful possession of examination materials and forging documents such as examination results.
Legislators also adopted additional amendments allowing any person or institution aggrieved by a Zimsec board decision to appeal to the responsible minister.
Such decisions include denial of registration as an examination centre, the scope of registration or cancellation of registration as an examination centre.
The Bill’s return to the Committee of the Whole House means its passage into law will now be delayed until Parliament has addressed the President’s concerns and the Constitution’s referral process has run its course.
