Parents interviewed by The Zimbabwean this week said that they were not able to access the foreign currency and that the price was exorbitant. A senior Ministry of Education official in Mutare said: A lot of students from rural schools will not be able to write their examinations. We have received the figures and reports from various school headmasters and the situation is pathetic. There are also others within the urban schools who have failed to pay the exam fees. The official said at Chipindure Secondary School in Marange, only 11 students out of 48 had paid.
A headmaster at Chamutsa Secondary School in Mutare West, Tennison Muchabaiwa, said: There are bright students who will not be able to write their examinations after their parents failed to raise or access the foreign currency to pay for the exam fees. We also have a situation where those who have managed to pay the fees are paying for a maximum of five subjects only. Zimsec has extended the date for payments of Ordinary and Advanced level examinations to September 26, 2009 after it realised that very few students had paid.