418 000 children to sit ZIMSEC Grade Seven exams 

*….Last year they were 387 000*

AT least 418 000 candidates are set to sit for Grade Seven Zimsec examinations scheduled to start on September 22, with stringent measures rolled out to curb leakages, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Dr Torerayi Moyo has said.

 

Last year about 387 000 wrote the exams.

 

“The entry at Grade 7 stood at 417 800 candidates. The Government has put in place all mechanisms to ensure that this year’s examinations proceed smoothly without any challenges. We want to give confidence to parents, pupils and stakeholders that we are ready.

 

“As far as Zimsec is concerned, we are more than ready. All the required equipment is in place and we want to make sure that we have uninterrupted examinations,” said Dr Moyo.

 

Examination material for the Grade 7 examinations, one of the most important yardsticks in academic pursuit, will soon be distributed to all clusters across the country.

 

Measures put in place to curb leakages include engagement and close coordination with key stakeholders in the examination papers setting and distribution chain.

 

“The council has put in place measures that have secured the examination since 2023. These, among others, are as follows: Outreach meetings with heads of centres through their professional associations (NASH and NAPH),” he said.

 

“Working closely with the ministry from the district level right up to the head office, keeping of question papers by Zimsec, only to be released in the morning of the examinations.

 

“Use of cluster centres where people of integrity keep the question papers until the release of the papers to centres. Use of the police and other security agencies to secure the clusters where question papers are kept before release.”

 

Dr Moyo stressed that the era of examination paper leakages was now behind the nation.

 

“Regarding exam leakages, since 2023, we have never experienced any leakage. We are actually working on the Zimbabwe School Examinations Amendment Bill, which will criminalise exam leakage. Anyone who participates in the leakage will be given a custodial sentence. So there won’t be any fines,” he said.

 

He added: “This year we are expecting more than 55 percent pass rate, which is six percent higher than last year’s 49 percent.”

 

Dr Moyo underscored that this uncompromising stance marked a deliberate escalation in the fight against examination malpractice, shifting from mere administrative penalties to serious criminal consequences.