The Sunday Mail
Tanyaradzwa Rusike
NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD Ruya Adventist High School learner Tadiwanashe Mavetera shattered academic records after attaining 10 As in the 2022 Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) Advanced Level exams.
In achieving the remarkable feat, Mavetera aced exams in Accounting, Mechanical Mathematics, Business Studies, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, Pure Mathematics, Statistics and Economics.
A-Level learners ordinarily sit three subjects.
His latest accomplishment adds to the 20 As he achieved in Ordinary Level exams in 2020.
Zimsec board chairperson Professor Eddie Mwenje yesterday told The Sunday Mail that although the examinations management body does not usually comment on the performance of individual learners, Mavetera’s was “amazing”.
“Getting 50 points is amazing. I remember, around 2017, learners were registering about eight or less subjects, and the highest we used to get was about 25 points. However, as a board, we do not comment on candidates’ personal results; it should be done by schools and parents. That is why, when we give pass rates, we just do it at a national level,” he said.
On Friday, Zimsec announced that the 2022 A-level pass rate had improved by about 5 percent from the previous year.
“In November 2021, however, 48 234 wrote two or more subjects and 40 842 obtained Grade E or better in two or more subjects, translating to a percentage pass rate of 83,13. The national pass rate of 2022, therefore, increased by 4,97 percent.”
Female candidates outperformed their male counterparts.
“A total of 15 503 female school candidates sat two or more subjects in the November 2022 Advanced Level examination, with 14 193 passing two subjects, yielding a 92,32 percent pass rate, an increase of 5,58 percent from 86,74 percent for 2021,” he said.
Zimsec director Dr Lazarus Nembaware said while Mavetera’s academic feat is extraordinary, universities are obliged to only consider three A-Level subjects for enrolment.
“It is out of this world to have 50 points at A-Level because, even universities do not consider that. They use 15 points as the highest measure for enrolment from the standard three subjects,” he said.
Twitter: @tdrusike
