By Patricia Mashiri
Professor Paul Mavima, the Minister of Primary and Secondary education has announced that ZIMSEC Ordinary level English Paper 2 examination will be retaken on Friday 16 February 2018. The paper will be retaken as a result of widespread cheating which was identified.
“I would like to advice the nation that the November 2017 Ordinary level English Language Paper2 examination will be retaken on Friday 16 February 2018 from 1000 hours to 1200 hours. All results for the November 2017 examination session have been nullified.
“This follows the widespread cheating in this paper, exacerbated by the social media and identifies during the November 2017 examination session. It was reported in the press during the examination and subsequently validated during the marking of candidate scripts,” Mavima said.
The Minister said all students who sat for the November 2017 Examinations are required to report to their 2017 Examination Centres in order to write the exam which has been set for Friday 16 February.
All students have been informed that the cancellation was an outcome of cheating during English paper 2 examination. The cheating students were prosecuted or sentenced.
The minister advised the nation that all candidates who sat for the English Language paper 2 examination are required to re-write at their original examination centres. Candidates are prohibited from resitting at any other centre and any candidates who cheat in the examination will have all their results nullified, no examination fees shall be paid for this resit.
“The heads of examination centres should take full charge and not delegate to their subordinates the running of the examination at their centres, all examination centres have been notified, ZIMSEC and the Ministry shall not be held responsible for any failure by any candidate to rewrite this examination, all examination regulation and conditions shall apply,” Mavima said.
All the other results will be put on hold until the English language paper 2 has been taken, marked and integrated with the rest of the examination.
Esau Nhandara, the ZIMSEC director assured the nation that after writing the ministry will take back the scripts to ZIMSEC that same day for marking. They are also hoping that the marking process will only take a week.
Professor Eddie Mwenje, the ZIMSEC Board Chairman said the retake of the examination was the right way to go. He said the board and the ministry’s main concern was to restore the integrity of the examination body. He added that there will be time compensation for the students who are supposed to go for lower sixth since this is the shortest term.