Source: No more exam supplements – Sunday News January 21, 2018
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
CANDIDATES who intended to supplement Ordinary and Advanced level subjects can no longer follow the traditional registration process but they now have to be attached to an examination centre for assessment under the new curriculum, Sunday News can reveal.
The Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council (Zimsec) spokesperson, Miss Nicky Dlamini, said candidates who intend to sit for examinations under the new curriculum were required to adhere to the set requirements.
“All those that want to sit for examinations to write subjects that they want will have to register at approved centres and have their work/tasks moderated by a teacher from that institution after which it will be moderated by Zimsec itself,” she said.
Miss Dlamini said those intending to sit for Zimsec examinations can no longer be independent of the institutions they register with.
“It is no longer possible for one to walk into an examination centre without having done set coursework tasks, all work is brought in periodically and moderated then one can sit for examinations,” she said.
The new curriculum introduced by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education last year now requires that pupils contribute part of their work in the form of tasks given over a two-year period; this then contributes to 30 percent of the examination which is then added to the actual examination marks.
The tasks cannot be submitted in one go, but are submitted periodically, making it impossible for a candidate to show up with all required tasks when it is examination time. Miss Dlamini also indicated that pupils who sat for their O and A-level examinations in 2017 would not be affected by this development if they wish to re-sit for the examination in June.
“All those who sat for Zimsec examinations last year can sit for the June 2018 supplementary examinations because they wrote during a time when the new curriculum had not come into effect for their particular classes. However, all candidates will have to adhere to the new rules after that,” she said.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Dr Sylvia Utete-Masango also concurred that the pupils in the old regime would not be affected.
“It would be wrong to examine students who used the old curriculum with the new system, they will use what was there before and tasks will not be included. Only students that have begun the new curriculum will be required to be tested under it,” she said.
She, however, said continuous assessment marks would be valid for two years.
“These marks for the continuous assessment are valid for a maximum of two years, so if one does not perform well in an examination they are able to sit again without having to submit marks, after that they start afresh,” she said.
Dr Utete-Masango, however, said the A-level results which were released last month were well done as 773 pupils scored above 15 points.
“Students did well; some set for as many as six subjects and scored 30 points. In total 773 students attained 15 points and above which was is job well done,” she said.
Dr Utete-Masango said candidates who set for more than three A-level subjects were mostly from the sciences that also took up arts subject as well and excelled in them. She encouraged learners who could handle more than the standard three A-level subjects to take up the challenge to sit for more subjects.
COMMENTS
any alternative for those who are older and working n planning to re write O/A levels?
what about those intending to write in November and they used the old curriculum can they still write or it’s now the nation yekuti asina kudzidza zvavharana
Is it possible to supplement A level. I got 2 subject now l want to re write the one I failed
I wrote in 2012,so do i still have a chance to write this coming june?
yes
the old curriculum is ending this june so you can write
i would like to ask for the center to write A level exam this june in Mutare am kindly looking for help
Is there tasks and projects in 2018
when is the due date for registration of june examinations 2018?
There is too much that is brought into our education system without any results.This continuous assessment is only a way of loading work to the already overburdened teacher.With this new curriculum into effect,one wonders what we want to achieve really.After my own assessment,I noticed that a child takes up to nine years at primary level,six years at secondary level.If the same child progresses to university for a degree in medicine,that takes him/her to additional seven years and in total it adds up to twenty-two years before that child has started working.
Note that during all this period of study,the parent is pumping out money and due to our economic problems,the same child will stay home for more than five years without employment thus adding to a total twenty-nine years.
If the child is to be employed in government where retirement is at sixty years,what contribution is he/she going to give to the country.Surely some of these changes in our system do not benefit the country at all.
Yes, your views and arguments comes true.I agree with you that there will be no or less contribution being generated into the country by such pupils. I think the fact is “changes which are continuously set in educational system won’t work that much in our country!
November prative candidate are still allowed
November rewriting for external students is it still allowed
November private candidate still allowed or not
can one write in June 2019 using the new curriculum
from my studies ,all those who set for zimsec during 2017 and 2018 they can sit for June exams 2019 .But new curriculum won’t demand you the tasks !
saka hatichanyoreri here isu tarohwa nenhamo Joni? Musadaro varume