The Herald
By Felex Share and Vallery Chingono
15 October 2009
Harare — Zimsec has granted a reprieve to Ordinary Level students who failed to sit for practical exams because they had not paid examination fees.
Some students had sat for practical exams in Agriculture, Fashion and Fabrics, Food and Nutrition, Woodwork, Metalwork and Technical Graphics last week.
This had raised the spectre of their colleagues having to wait until next year to sit for practical exams.
However, yesterday Zimsec director Mr Happy Ndanga said: “For the recently-registered candidates, the implications are that they will have to sit an alternative paper for the Food and Nutrition practical examination.
“For all the other practical subjects other than Food and Nutrition, the recently-registered students have to submit their coursework. “The coursework submission requirement cannot be waived because without the coursework candidates cannot be issued with a result in that practical subject.”
He said in a normal year, marking of coursework takes place during the August holidays, but that did not happen this year because of the problems with examination fees.
Zimsec had come under fire after parents and guardians felt the exams body had failed to cater for students’ needs.
Meanwhile, Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart on Tuesday met with management at the parastatal to try and resolve an impasse with employees over salaries.
Minister Coltart queried the manner in which management had been using funds this year and ordered them to rework their 2010 cash flow projections.
“What I have always queried is the income and expenditure statement. I need clarification from the management and I have urged them to go and revise their figures,” he said.
After meeting management, Minister Coltart also met the workers’ committee before addressing all employees at the Zimsec head office in Harare.
It is understood that the salary negotiations started yesterday between Zimsec management and the workers’ committee and the talks continue today.
“They must first make presentations to me highlighting what their problems are. From there the process of negotiations will begin,” said Minister Coltart. He also said the workers must look at what their colleagues in other parastatals were earning.
“The workers have to bear in mind what other people are earning. They need the money but there are also children out there who failed to register for exams and need to be bailed out,” he said.
On the issue of management’s intention to purchase new cars, Minister Coltart said luxury vehicles were not a priority.
“It is true that the institution needs cars, but they must get practical cars not the luxury cars they are dreaming of,” he said.
He urged the workers to return to work while negotiations continued.
Workers, however, said they would only return to work after Government had met their demands. When The Herald visited Zimsec offices, workers could be seen milling around.