The Herald
Herald Reporter
1st October 2009
Parents and teachers have accused the Government of neglecting children after the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture on Tuesday said no provisions would be made to accommodate thousands of students who failed to register for the November 2009 public examinations.
Education Minister David Coltart said there would be no reprieve for those who failed to beat the September 25 registration deadline because the fees were beyond their reach.
Candidates were asked to pay US$10 and US$20 per Ordinary and Advanced Level paper respectively.
Yesterday, parents appealed to the Government to reconsider the decision, saying a united approach was the only way forward.
The parents said while they understood that education was an investment, they did not have money to pay the exam fees.
“The Government should have people at heart and consider what workers are earning. We actually look up to them for help but they are doing the opposite of what we expect of them,” said Mrs Mildred Gonye who said her son had not registered.
Another parent, Mr Renias Matende said it was Government’s responsibility to find a way of dealing with the matter in a manner that benefited the nation.
“If it is a Government with people at heart, it must reconsider its decision on this issue. These are really wasted years. I can’t imagine this is the end for my son,’’ he said.
Teachers Union of Zimbabwe chief executive officer Mr Manuel Nyawo said Government — being the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council’s sole financier — should find a way to fund the body instead of allowing ordinary citizens to suffer.
“Thousands of students are facing a bleak future and this is not the time for Government to sit down and relax while people are suffering.Justice must be done especially for students in the rural areas where most parents are communal farmers,” he said.
He said Government must revive the education sector in a way that satisfied all stakeholders concerned. An official from the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe Mr Ladistious Zunde said the crisis needed a bold decision from Government and Zimsec to save the situation.
“What has happened is simply killing our future leaders. These people who have been denied a chance are the same people who are going to lead the country tomorrow.
“If the Government is serious about the future then it must redress the issue and find a way whereby everyone benefits,” he said.
According to teachers’ unions, about 70 percent of candidates failed to register for this year’s exams.
On Tuesday, Minister Coltart said they understood that over half of ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level students had failed to register. Yesterday, Zimsec information officer Mr Ezekiel Pasipamire said although they understood that thousands had failed to register, they could not give accurate figures at the moment as they were still collating data from their offices countrywide.
“We are working flat out to find the actual number of those who have managed to register. All the provinces must have submitted their entries by tomorrow,” he said.
He said while they sympathised with those who had failed to register, they too were in a tight situation because they needed money to run the exams.