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Zimbabwe Education Standards Deteriorating
Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights)
March 12, 2003

Harare - Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) is worried at the pace at which the standards of education in Zimbabwe are deteriorating. ZimRights totally condemns the action by officers of the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) who forged and tampered with examination results. This is grossly unfair and a big loss to parents who spent hard earned income sending their children to school to obtain qualifications that are not credible and internationally condemned. This is also not fair for children who put a lot of effort through reading day and night to attain the best marks. To this end ZimRights urges the Ministry of Education to seriously investigate the Council and restore the lost good name and reputation.

The fast declining credibility and reputation of the ZIMSEC Council and its examinations is attributed to rampant corruption, incapacity and unprofessionalism in which examination papers are leaked to members of the public, mixing up of results and forging of certificates by council officers. Children with ZIMSEC Certificates will soon fail to enroll for courses outside Zimbabwe because of the diminishing credibility.

ZimRights further notes with concern that the educational standards in Zimbabwe continue to take a nose-dive due to bad decisions such as giving the National Service Youth preference to get vacancies at Universities and Colleges without proper qualifications. Such decisions kill the integrity and the international acclaim which local educational standards once enjoyed. In this regard, ZimRights urges the relevant authorities to take action and bring to normalcy the battered image of the ZIMSEC examinations. We at ZimRights are aware that it is within the power of the Minister of Education to cause an investigation into the affairs of the Council, in terms of Section 32 of the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council Act Chapter 25:18.

We need to remind the Council that the Right to Education is a fundamental right of every child. Section 4 (1) of the Education Act Chapter 25:04 spells out that "..... every child in Zimbabwe shall have the right to school education". Let us not compromise the quality of Zimbabwean education. The Children are our future Leaders.

Munyaradzi Bidi
National Director

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