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According to a statement released by Zimsec director Mr Happy Ndanga on Monday, O-level results are out and school heads were expected to have started collecting them from Zimsec regional offices throughout the country as from yesterday.
Candidates should be able to collect them as soon as headmasters collect them from Zimsec.
The release of O-level results comes hard on the heels of the release of A-level results which came out on 19 January.
For the first time in years, Zimsec has released O-level results in record time such that some parents were even caught unawares and will now have the daunting task of running around trying to raise fees and money to buy uniforms for children who will proceed to lower sixth form.
This is as it should be and we commend Zimsec for being responsive to the needs of learners enrolling for lower sixth form who will this year have time to catch up with their studies during the first term as they have not lost much learning time given that schools only opened two weeks ago.
We hope Zimsec will be able to live up to this challenge and continue releasing results early.
In fact, the new challenge now would be for the examinations body to not only release O and A-level results on time, but to print the certificates timeously as well.
This is because the result slips that candidates get do not have security features and holders of the slips have in the past been denied advancement and employment opportunities as some institutions of higher learning and prospective employers doubt their authenticity.
We therefore urge Zimsec to address this situation so that the printing of certificates follows immediately after the release of the results.
The early release of the results this year, we are told, is due to the Belt system, a new method of marking that Zimsec has introduced to increase efficiency and marking.
We believe nothing is impossible and with Zimsec embracing new technology in the marking of exams, this is achievable.
Embracing new technology tallies with the public examinations body’s digitalisation programme which would make the system more efficient and result in massive savings, eventually leading to a reduction in fees.
This programme is expected to be fully operational next year and would also usher in specialisation in the marking of examinations down to particular questions with the resultant savings on labour, time and materials. It is expected to significantly bring fees down and ensure quick release of results.
The results of this investment in new technology are beginning to trickle in and are there for everyone to see. Zimsec therefore deserves a pat on the back for moving with the times.
We believe once everything is in place and results come out on time and certificates are printed timeously, confidence will be restored in our public examinations such that those who were shunning Zimsec opting for Cambridge examinations might be forced to come back home.