Online Reporter
Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Schools Amendment Bill is long overdue as the principal law enacted in 1994 has become outdated and is failing to address current demands of accountability, governance and challenges in public examinations management brought about by technological changes.The Bill was tabled in the National Assembly over two weeks ago and seeks to amend the original law to enhance security in the management of the country’s public examinations that have been blighted by incidents of leakages and other malpractices in the past.
The country’s largest teachers’ representative body, the Zimbabwe Teachers Association, hailed the decision to amend the law during a parliamentary workshop on the Bill.
“The ZIMSEC Amendment Bill is both necessary and overdue. The principal Act 1994 has become increasingly misaligned with the contemporary demands of assessment credibility, governance accountability, and international benchmarking,” ZIMTA chief executive officer Dr Sifiso Ndlovu said in his presentation to the workshop.
“However, while the Bill proposes commendable reforms, some areas require refinement, further strengthening, and structural realignment to close systemic loopholes and improve functional resilience”.
Dr Ndlovu also commended the expansion of the definition of what is considered examination practice in Clause 2 of the Bill to cover modern forms of academic dishonesty, which includes use of smart gadgets, script tampering, and centre-level collusion.
“These are overdue reforms, reflective of both digital and organised syndicate-based malpractices seen in recent ZIMSEC leakages,” he said.
Dr Ndlovu added that there was also a need to make further amendments by classifying the malpractices according to gravity, with penalties also reflective of the severity of the malpractice.
He said ZIMTA was against blanket penalties like de-registration of examination centres as this would disadvantage innocent candidates and instead recommended penalties that promote individual accountability.
ZIMSEC director Dr Lazarus Nembaware welcomed the reconstitution of the ZIMSEC board as contained in Clause 5 through the inclusion of needed skills.
“The amendment is meant to strengthen the efficiency of the board. The needed skills are now referred to in the Act.
Representatives from universities are no longer referred by name. There are more universities than there were when the Act was promulgated,” he said.
The new Section 6 introduces skill-based representation on the board to include those with qualifications in law, audit, ICT, education, human resources, and persons living with disabilities.
In its presentation, the Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education recommended that the proposed law provide for the electronic assessment of examinations.
“There should be ICT investments that improve efficiency and effectiveness and integrate provisions that support e-assessments,” read part of the presentation by the committee.
The committee also recommended that there be a provision for a public accountability framework to evaluate ZIMSEC’s performance and ensure continuous improvement.
