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Cashless
Zimsec enlist soldiers and police to mark examinations
Henry Makiwa, SW Radio Africa
October 30, 2007
http://www.swradioafrica.com/news301007/zimsec301007.htm
The
Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council (Zimsec) has requested the
army and police to take over the marking of primary and secondary
school examinations, citing lack of funds to pay teachers.
Officials at
Zimsec have indicated that most teachers are likely to boycott the
marking exercise after many expressed that the allowances offered
are too small. It is now understood that some military personnel
have been undergoing training in examination marking as part of
government's strategy to counter an anticipated marking boycott
by teachers.
According to
figures presented by Zimsec director Happy Ndanga to parliament
the organisation needs more than Z$500 billion for the marking exercise.
This is against the backdrop of a bid placed by the examinations
council where it sought to be granted Z$1,5 trillion for its 2007
budget.
According to
press reports Ndanga recently told the parliamentary portfolio committee
on education that their funding was "just a little over 50
percent" of their needs.
Ndanga said:
"We cannot run an examination at 50 percent capacity. It must
be 100 percent.
On the marking
requirements, we need to pay examiners reasonable rates. We can
only pay them reasonable rates if we are given the money to do so."
A senior teacher
and examiner told Newsreel that fears were rife that most teachers
would spurn the marking exercise.
"We are
aware that soldiers are considered as the only viable option in
the face of recent developments that saw teachers joining in strike
action organised by the Zimbabwe Teachers Association and the Progressive
Teachers Union of Zimbabwe," said the teacher, who refused
to be named.
He added, "It
will however be a joke because some of these soldiers barely made
it to grade seven. On the other hand, the examination results look
set to be delayed for the third year running again. It all goes
to say that Zimsec has failed and they should have left our system
in the hands of the Cambridge examination board."
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