Some government schools confirmed they had received a circular from the parent ministry instructing them not to register external students from colleges not registered with Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture.
A principal at an unregistered college in Glen Norah who requested anonymity said students faced some challenges. “We had a relationship over the years with some schools that were registered as examination centres, but this year they refused. We only managed to register at one college for ordinary level students. Advanced level students were told to register on their own and most of them failed to do so,” he said.
The government last year closed more than 106 illegal colleges and many students were stranded. Minister of Education, Sports and Culture, David Coltart, is on record denouncing these illegal colleges as unethical and unprofessional and has promised to descend heavily on them.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council has withheld Ordinary Level Mathematics results for 126 candidates at a private college in Harare over suspicion that they leaked examination papers.
The national examination body is now investigating the Open Learning Centre for the alleged malpractice. The June O-Level results were released two weeks ago and most candidates have collected their results.
Zimsec sources said the college recorded “unusual” pass rates in the subject hence the decision by the national examinations body to investigate. There are also reports that some of the students were allowed to use calculators on the non-calculator version of the subject.
The centre’s examination officer, Taurai Munyikwa, confirmed the development saying they were working flat out to solve the problem.
Areas which have witnessed the influx of these colleges include almost every high density suburbs in Harare, Chitungwiza, and Bulawayo among others.
Post published in: News