ZIMSEC strike exposes education shambles

By Vusumuzi Sifile

THE government’s decision to go ahead with public examinations for Grade VlI, Ordinary and Advanced Levels despite problems facing the education sector could backfire as the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council only has "skeletal staff" to compile answer sheets from examination centres.

It has also emerged that workers who are supposed to compile a database for the examinations have been on strike for months, protesting against poor salaries. As a result, the database, which is usually compiled months before the examinations, has not been completed.

The database is used to allocate candidate numbers to students from various centres, and to develop statements of entry for all students. It is not clear how students managed to write the examinations without going through the vital process and educators warned that there could be a massive mix-up of examination results.

Zimsec employees now report for duty once or twice a week. This has thrown into disarray the compilation of the examination database, a key part of the examination process.
The development could compound the confusion in the administration of the examinations, which have already seen some papers being invigilated reportedly by headmen, youth militia and police officers.

Two weeks before the government defied calls by teachers’ unions not to hold examinations, Zimsec employees petitioned the acting Minister of Education, Flora Bhuka to urgently address the "unsustainable remuneration at Zimsec".

"For a long time, Zimsec staff have been subjected to deplorable conditions of service. The salaries given to Zimsec workers are so extremely low that it is a wonder that we have managed to report for duty," reads the letter, dated October 13.

Bhuka was not available for comment. But workers’ representatives said she had promised to "look into the issue".

The letter indicates that the salaries workers received for October were not enough for one trip to work on public transport. The workers accused their superiors of "general insensitivity", which they said "makes it impossible" for them to continue performing their normal duties.
On Friday, Zimsec spokesperson Ezekiel Pasipamire was said to be out of office. It could not be immediately established whether his absence was part of the protest. An official who answered the phone said he "just didn’t come to work".

Dr Stephen Mahere, the Secretary for Education, said: "We cannot be talking of a database when examinations have already been written", and then requested to have questions faxed to him. However, Mahere had not responded by Friday close of business.

Mathias Guchutu, the spokesperson for the National Education Union of Zimbabwe, which covers Zimsec workers, said they were not happy that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)’s decided to award cash benefits to invigilators only.

"The union is happy that the RBZ intervened in the education sector by providing money for the invigilators, but why not extend that to the Zimsec employees who are on a minimum of $7 000 (revalued) a month," he said. "The Zimsec employee is critical to the quality and professional administration of examinations."

Guchutu said the current examination process would not "produce any quality thing".
"The employees can hardly afford to go to work. There is currently skeleton staff, and the administration of the examinations from what we have seen so far has also been skeletal.
"If the government is serious about the examinations, something must be done quickly."