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Harmony Agere and Linda Mzapi
The Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council has denied reports that grades D and E, categorised as fails at Ordinary Level, are now regarded as passes.
This follows reports by some sections of the media that this year’s pass rate was higher due to the elevation of the two grades to pass status by Zimsec.
The development sparked fierce debate on social media with some people accusing Zimsec of destroying the country’s education system while others contemptuously thanked the council for boosting their CVs.
However, in an interview last week, Zimsec public relations officer Ms Nicolette Dhlamini dismissed the reports saying their statement had been misunderstood.
“Just as you saw the reports from the media I did also and was surprised because we did not utter such statements,” she said.
“We only announced that this year we included Ds and Es to come up with the pass rate not that they are passes that can help you move on to Advanced Level.”
The results showed an increased pass rate from last year’s 22,38 to 27,86 percent with 50,79 percent of the total candidates passing five subjects with grade E or better.
“Symbols D and E are only a school certificate grade but they are not GCE O-Level passes. An A, B and C are the only Ordinary Level passes that can help you proceed to A-Level,” she said.
Apex Council head Mr Richard Gundani said there was no need to use a new grading system now since the current one is perfect.
“We don’t understand and don’t know why the grading has changed. This is bound to cause confusion because a lot of questions will be asked like what does it mean for those moving to A-Level, job-seekers and those who want to enroll for degree programmes.”
Dr Godfrey Gandawa, the Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, questioned why Zimsec had decided to change their grading system.
“If Zimsec has decided to change we might want to interrogate the reason why they have decided to change,” he said.
Dr Gandawa said if Zimsec can justify the changes the education system in the country will be improved.
“If they have decided to change we will also adapt and change our criteria in enrolling and this might even help us enroll more students in higher and tertiary education.”
In light of the confusion, Dr Gandawa said there ought to be more communication between the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education.
Meanwhile, experts have joined the debate on why more and more students are hitting high symbols in various subjects, a trend which was very rare in yesteryears.
The media have been awash with headlines of students who would have attained overly impressive pass marks at both Ordinary and Advanced Level.
Education expert, Dr Peter Kwaira, said students these days now have more resources to either work hard in school or cheat.
“Levels of passing are superb in Zimbabwe but are they translating into good patterns in society in terms of development in the country, are they helping to solve social problems? We should be critical when looking at these pass rates.
“Those that had their education in the past could be doing well than those getting As now, in real-life situations.
“We could interpret it in that there is more cheating than ever and students can afford to buy answers. These good passes are mostly recorded in urban areas and rarely in rural areas and this should say a lot about these passes.
“We should go beyond results and see if they are translating into capability and if it’s helping the students solve problems critically in society.”
Zimbabwe Teachers Association’s Sifiso Nldovu said the development is down to improved quality of teachers.
“In the last four years we have had total concentration of teachers on their jobs whose morale help students and must be catered for, if not they will be less motivated,” he said.
“Government should also be appreciated as it has been playing its part by providing text books and qualified teachers.”
Progressive Teachers Association of Zimbabwe Dr Takavafira Zhou said the good performance by students is also because Zimbabwean parents are supportive.
“One thing about Zimbabwean parents is that they are very supportive and it can be attributed to the good grades we have been getting lately. Resources from Government and assurance of internet access also help a lot.
“It could, however, be the simplicity of the examinations which are now highly predictable with students buying books with examination tips.
“Some teachers are no longer teaching for life as well students are also imploring ways to just learn, memorise, pass and forget.”
What the authorities said
The Advanced and Ordinary Level November 2015 results are out and as has become the trend we are faced with ample questions about the examinations and the results.
This year, the examiner, is faced with an encumbrance created by social and formal media interpretations of the grades awarded to candidates, particularly at Ordinary Level.
The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council would like to clarify the issue of the position of the E grade on the Ordinary Level Certificate.
At the back of the Ordinary Level Certificate, grades A, B and C (1-6) are given as passes with C, the lowest, being a credit pass.
These passes enable candidates to be recognised for further education or training for work. These grades are the GCE Ordinary Level pass grades.
Grades D & E (7 & 8) are school certificate subject grades. The school certificate subject grades recognise that the candidate has gone through the Ordinary Level course but, has not successfully attained the requisite GCE standard grades required by the GCE standard to proceed to the next level of education or training for work.
Those who attain these grades (D and E) will have evidence that they attempted the GCE programme and attained school certificate grades which are below the GCE standard.
The standards of examinations administered by Zimsec are not autonomous to other examination boards in the country, region or the international assessment community.
Assessment bodies are benchmarked and comparable across the broad spectrum of examinations to allow graduates at different levels to be evaluated by different Examination Boards from other countries when they apply for opportunities to study outside of Zimbabwe.
According to academic definitions, “bench-marking involves comparing and analysing the level of one qualification against another identified qualification, standard or framework level in order to determine its academic standing”.
Online Reporter