Thirty (30) learners at Findale School in Eastview, Harare, were unable to sit for their Ordinary Level Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) exams this week after the school owner allegedly misappropriated their exam fees.
According to a report by ZBC News, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has intervened to pay the examination fees for the affected learners, enabling them to write the remaining subjects.
The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Torerai Moyo, confirmed this development during a visit to Findale School in Eastview, Harare, on Wednesday. Said Moyo:
I want to thank His Excellency the President for coming to the rescue of all these learners because their fundamental right, education, had been violated through this theft by the owner of this school.
What is most important is the fact that the proliferation of unreasonable schools is a challenge to us as the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, and we are going to take measures against all those schools that are operating illegally.
ZIMSEC Chief Executive Officer, Dr Lazarus Nembaware confirmed the centres where learners will be sitting for their examinations. Said Nembaware:
We are now putting in place all the requirements so that the affected learners will start writing their exams starting tomorrow.
So starting tomorrow they must report to the centres which we have allocated them. They will write as Pirate candidates and their results will be made public.
The government has vowed to take decisive measures against any schools found to be operating illegally, in an effort to prevent such incidents from recurring.
More: Pindula News