Zimsec: A dynamic, results driven organisation
The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council, is an autonomous parastatal under the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. It is an internationally accredited examinations board. Its syllabuses were evaluated by the National Academic Recognition and Information Centre (NARIC) in the UK, and found to be equivalent to the General Certificate of Education Standard offered in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, United States of America and the other English speaking countries, hence the internationally recognised qualifications conferred by the Council.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, through the Curriculum Development Unit (CDU) has been engaged in a curriculum review process from 2014 to 201, with a series of new syllabi and subjects being discussed for implementation.
The year 2017 marked the beginning of the implementation of this new curriculum. All of this being in line with the national vision of Zim-Asset (Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation), that is looking ‘towards an Empowered Society and a Growing Economy’, and we as Zimsec, play a vital role in the foundations through quality continuous assessment of the nation’s students produced by the Education system.
This is a key factor in integrating educational assessment into national development planning and demonstrates the government’s recognition of the importance of quality continuous assessment to national sustainable development.
Zimsec is a dynamic, results driven organisation which has drawn its strength from focusing on moving into the use of cutting edge technology available to the assessment business. From e- registration to emarking, electronic item banking and now looking towards electronic tracking and sealing of examinations papers, Zimsec is looking towards being an ‘E’ driven organisation, to improve efficiency, accuracy and security in its operations.
In the Southern African Region Zimsec has set the pace in the quality of assessment systems and the evolution of traditional examining and assessment, by being the first to embark in e- marking and becoming a case study for neighbouring examination boards.
Zimsec was the Chairperson (2015) of the Southern Africa Association for Educational Assessment (SAAEA), the President of Association of Educational Assessment in Africa (AEAA) (2016)and a member of the International Association for Educational Assessment (IAEA).
It is on these platforms where ideas on educational assessment techniques are discussed and shared, that Zimsec aligns its strategies and vision aimed at improving quality in education linking with the regional and international initiatives and trends in educational assessment.
Zimsec has a strong organisational framework including 10 Regional Offices covering the nation, and the Head Office in the Capital city which hosts the heads of divisions where issues of human resources, technical expertise and funding are handled.
It can be concluded that there is great recognition of the importance electronic solutions and systems to achieving Zimsec’s short and long term goals of security and efficiency in examinations administration, assessment and research; however the traditional constraints must be overcome in order for sustained progress to be made.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our valued stakeholders and partners for helping us move closer to our corporate vision. Every little contribution is recognised and greatly appreciated.
We wish you all a joyous festive season and a safe transition into the new year.