adminTHE Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) has set 8 May as the deadline for registration for the June 2015 O-level and A-level examinations, ending months of speculation on the fate of the examinations.
Recently, social media platforms were abuzz with claims that Zimsec had scrapped the June examinations owing to lack of resources.
The rumour had sparked panic among prospective candidates most of whom are repeaters who are hoping to sit for subjects they failed in previous examinations.
In a statement, Zimsec urged prospective candidates for the O and A-level June examinations to register with approved examination centres before the set deadline.
Registration deadline dates for the O and A-level November 2015 examinations will be announced in due course.
“The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council would like to inform the public that registration for Zimsec 2015 June Examinations is in progress.
“Ordinary Level candidates will pay $15 per subject, while Advanced Level candidates will pay $26 per subject. The deadline for June registration is 8 May 2015.
“All June candidates are encouraged to register with approved examination centres before the above mentioned deadline,” reads the statement.
Traditionally Zimsec announces registration dates for the June and November examination sessions for both O and A-level in March, but this year the examination council delayed the announcement by almost a month.
The delay had given current to speculation that the council was mulling scrapping the June examination sessions.
Efforts to get a comment from Zimsec director Mr Esau Nhandara on the reasons for the delay in announcing registration deadlines were fruitless as he was said to be out of office when Sunday News called.
Zimsec public relations manager Ms Nicky Dhlamini’s mobile phone was not reachable until close of business on Friday last week. At the start of the year, fears were rife that the June examination session would be scrapped, but Mr Nhandara quashed the speculation, assuring prospective candidates that the examinations would be held.
“Zimsec strongly refutes such allegations and hereby confirms that June 2015 examinations will be held as normal, at a set time which will be confirmed in the new school calendar year.
“Those who are peddling this false information are not only putting the examinations board into disrepute but the educational system and the nation of Zimbabwe as a whole.
“Since its inception in 1996, Zimsec has without fail, hosted June and November examination sessions with integrity and produced standards whose credibility and high standards reach far beyond our borders and the continent,” Mr Nhandara told Sunday News in January this year.
The Zimsec director also encouraged members of the public not to fall for hoaxes that are peddled via social media platforms, saying Zimsec would never use such platforms to communicate any official information to its stakeholders.
Mr Nhandara’s statements were backed by Minster of Primary and Secondary Education Dr Lazarus Dokora who also allayed fears that the June examination session would not be held.
A snap survey conducted by Sunday News last week showed that most examination centres had already started registration of candidates for the June 2015 Zimsec examination session.
Online Reporter