Source: Rural Teachers Union Blames 3% ZIMSEC June Pass Rate On Underfunding And Poor Pay ⋆ Pindula News
The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has blamed the continued decline in Zimbabwe’s education outcomes on structural challenges affecting the country’s education system.
This follows the release of the June 2026 ZIMSEC Ordinary Level examination results, which recorded a national pass rate of 3%.
In a statement, ARTUZ said the results reflected deeper problems, including underfunding of education, poor teacher pay, shortages of qualified teachers, inadequate learning materials and limited support for learners.
“While June examination results have traditionally been lower than November results because they are predominantly written by private candidates, candidates rewriting subjects and those who failed to write November exams due to unforeseen circumstances, the continued decline in recent years highlights the worsening challenges confronting Zimbabwe’s education system,” said ARTUZ.
ARTUZ said the figures should not be treated as statistics alone, but as proof of a deeper crisis facing public education in the country.
“These results should not be viewed just as statistics but as a reflection of the broader crisis affecting public education,” ARTUZ said.
The union said June examination candidates continue to receive little policy attention, even though thousands of learners rely on the session as a second chance to improve their results.
It said many June candidates are victims of the same education system that has failed them, through high examination fees, economic hardship and barriers to accessing formal schooling.
ARTUZ called for targeted support for June candidates, including more affordable examination fees, accessible learning opportunities and programmes to improve their chances of success.
The union also questioned the continued emphasis on five Ordinary Level passes as the main measure of success, arguing that Zimbabwe’s education system should recognise different talents and abilities among learners.
It called for greater investment in vocational education, technical training, talent identification and early specialisation to give learners practical and marketable skills beyond the traditional academic route.
ARTUZ urged the government to urgently address challenges in the education sector by recruiting more teachers, improving salaries and working conditions, properly funding public schools and ensuring learners have access to quality teaching and learning materials.
Over the last three June examination sessions from 2024 to 2026, ZIMSEC Ordinary Level pass rates for candidates writing five or more subjects have remained below 6%, with 4.44% in 2024, 5.87% in 2025 and 3.00% in 2026.
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