This week ZIMSEC made two important announcements concerning the issue of the June 2020 and November 2020 public examinations. According to the board, the June and November papers for this year are ready and will be distributed to schools as soon as the exam board gets a go-ahead from the government.
In the wake of COVID-19, Zimsec has been putting in place business continuity strategies to ensure production and processing of exams, but we were waiting for the government directive to deploy exams to schools, which is dependent on opening of schools.
We are waiting for the exact date when exams will start and we will be in a position to restructure the timetable.
ZIMSEC Director Mr Lazarus Nembaware in front of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education
June exams were initially supposed to start on 8 May, however, due to the Coronavirus pandemic schools have been shut down and travel is restricted. In response, ZIMSEC said that they were postponing exams by 4 weeks and made it clear that this was a provisional move. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has extended the current lockdown indefinitely but urged schools to be opened so that those who are in final classes can write their exams.
However, he did not give a clear guideline on how he wants this to be achieved and there has been pushback by other stakeholders including teachers who would be required to invigilate these exams who have spoken out against reopening in the current environment with limited expensive testing and inadequate protective equipment.
November candidates can still register
ZIMSEC has also said that despite the passing of the initial deadline for registering for November examinations, they would open a registration window as they are aware that the ongoing lockdown has affected the ability of some students to register. This applies to new registrations and those who have failed to pay the needed topup.
