The Sunday Mail
Extra Reporter —
The Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council (Zimsec) has moved from ranking schools to ranking provinces as the school ranking system put unnecessary pressure on schools and parents, the council explained as it released the results for November 2016 Advanced Level examinations.
In the new ranking system, Mashonaland Central province had the best results as compared to other provinces in the November Advanced Level results, with an average pass rate of 93,3 percent.
Mashonaland Central saw a two percent pass rate increase from 89,9 percent recorded in 2015. In 2014, the province was sixth on the rankings, while in 2015 it held third position.
The province boasts of high schools such as Mazowe Boys, Langham Girls, Howard, St Alberts, St Phillips, St Francis, Chifamba as well as Bradley High schools.
Mashonaland Central also had a female pass rate of 95,3 percent while a 91,2 percent pass rate was attained by the males in the province.
Mashonaland East was ranked the second and had an average pass rate of 93,1 percent.
The province, which boasts of schools such as Monte Cassino, St Ignatius College, St Johns (Chikwaka) High, St Paul’s Musami; held first position in 2015, while it came third in 2014.
The province’s female students registered a 95,7 percent pass rate, scoring the highest percentage marks as compared to other provinces, while their male counterparts attained a 90,5 percent pass rate.
Masvingo province came third whilst Manicaland province held fourth position, with average pass rates of 92,1 and 90,3 percent respectively.
Manicaland held the same position in 2015 while Masvingo came second during the same year.
Manicaland province boasts of education powerhouses such as St Faiths, Kriste Mambo, St David Bonda and Marist Brother’s schools, among others high schools.
Meanwhile, Gokomere, St Anthony’s and Hebron are regarded as some of the best schools in Masvingo.
Midlands and Mashonaland West provinces came joint fifth with 87,5 percent pass rate while Bulawayo province held position seven and Matabeleland South came eighth.
Harare province came ninth with a four percent pass rate decrease as compared to 2015. The province claimed eighth place in 2014 and fifth in 2015.
High schools such as Roosevelt Girls, Mufakose 1 and Zimbabwe Republic Police are some of the schools that have recorded results with a pass rate that surpasses 90 percent.
Matabeleland North province came last on the list, a position it has held since 2014. The province had a 82 percent pass rate, a two percent increase as compared to 2015.
Despite the rankings, it is interesting to note that all the provinces across the country had a pass rate above 80 percent with female students outshining their male counterparts.
Zimsec board chairperson, Professor Levi Nyagura, noted in the A Level results analysis, “The pass rate for all provinces is high and above 80 percent,” he said.
“Of note is that in all provinces, school female candidates performed better than their male counterparts.”
