Results are meant to check how far those who sit for them understand the subjects they have either been taught or are supposed to master before being given specific certificates. Not surprisingly. For some students, there is usually uncertainty around the period results are to be released.
But then, results are inevitable, and one would have to see them one way or the other. We’ll, results for the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (ZIMSEC) O’level have just been released, with just a 28.96% pass rate — certainly not the best in the books and what many would want. But that’s the reality.
While the result might not appear the best on paper, it still showed some progress among students in the sense that it is higher than the record of a year earlier (2021), which had a pass rate of 26.34 per cent.
So in effect, the current pass rate had jumped by over 2 per cent, a reality confirmed by the ZIMSEC board chair, Prof. Eddie Mwenje.
About 278,760 students had sat for the examination, with just over 53,000 passing five subjects.
While the current results elicited mordant laughter from a section of social media, others were approving as it showed the students have made some progress and might do better next time.
