Candidates who sat for the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) Ordinary Level English Paper 2 examination in November last year are set to rewrite the paper next Friday after it was discovered by authorities that widespread cheating took place .
Addressing a Press conference in Harare yesterday, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Professor Paul Mavima said the ministry regretted the inconvenience caused. He, however, said the move was worthwhile as it preserves the integrity of the examinations system.
“I would like to advise the nation that the November 2017 Ordinary Level English Language Paper 2 examination will be retaken on Friday 16 February 2018 from 1000 hours to 1200 hours. All results for the November 2017 English Language Paper 2 have been nullified. This follows widespread cheating in this paper, exacerbated by the social media, and identified during the November 2017 examination session.
“It was reported in the Press during the examination and subsequently validated during the marking of the candidate scripts. I regret the inconvenience and general stakeholder dissatisfaction that this decision will cause.
“I would want to emphasise that this drastic decision has been arrived at after painstaking and agonising consideration. In the final analysis, the decision has been necessitated by the need to maintain and preserve the integrity of the National Examination System,” said Prof Mavima.