The Sunday Mail
Debra Matabvu – Extra Reporter
The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council Grade Seven results pass rate has increased by nearly 100 percent since 2009, with female candidates performing better than their male counterparts.
Zimsec statistics show that the 2014 national pass rate had increased by 95 percent, from 20,11 percent in 2011 to 38,12 percent in 2014.
The 2014 national pass rate for female candidates was 40,3 percent from 21,55 percent in 2009; compared to male candidates who attained a 35,6 percent pass rate this year and 18,88 percent in 2009.
Zimsec said female candidates’ continual upwards performance could be due to fewer distractions at this age.
The examinations board also attributed the national trends to the provision of textbooks to primary schools country wide by the Educational Transition Fund (ETF) through Unicef.
“This is corroborated by evidence from the Zimbabwe Early Learning Assessment (ZELA) project conducted by Zimsec which has shown that there is a marked improvement in the performance of candidates in primary schools as a result of provision and availability of UNICEF textbooks,” the council said.
ETF is a multi-donor funding mechanism launched in 2010 by the then Ministry of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture in partnership with Unicef and others to bridge the funding gap in the education sector.
Approximately 13 million textbooks were distributed under this programme.
Zimsec also attributed the increased pass rate to a stable economic climate that has enabled parents to meet their children’s educational needs. Further, the improved economic stability has meant more qualified teachers have remained in post.
Though, the pass rate has increased, this year’s Grade Seven candidates faired averagely in Mathematics, General Paper and English, while excelling in indigenous languages.
“Candidates performed better in indigenous languages than in English, which had 46,64 percent pass rate, because they are proficient in their local languages than English which is a second language” Zimsec highlighted.
“Candidates who sat for Shona had 86,03 percent pass rate and performed better than in the other local languages, followed by Ndebele with 77,24.
“The pass rate, however, is average in Maths (52,2 percent) and General Paper (45,38 percent), probably because candidates are limited by the use of English Language as a medium of instruction.”
Educationist and lecturer in the Department of Technical Education at the University of Zimbabwe Dr Peter Kwaira hailed the development and said it resonated well the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation.
“It is a positive a development which helps shows the extent to which Zimbabwe wants to revive all its sectors and this goes hand-in-hand with Zim-Asset,” he said.
He said the use of indigenous languages should also be incorporated in the teaching of other subjects as this helped pupils grasp concepts.
“For example in countries such as Japan, subjects such as Mathematics and sciences are taught in indigenous languages, especially at such low levels. This helps the students to understand them better,” he said.
