HARARE – The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) on Thursday denied reports that the 2021 Year 7 (Grade 7) results had been released.
A WhatsApp message circulating on social networks seems to have deceived two radio stations – CapiTalk and StarFM – which had to withdraw on Wednesday.
According to ZIMSEC, the tagging ended earlier this week and there are processes to follow that would delay the release of results for at least another week.
Schools have not opened for term one, with the government citing Covid-19, but teachers’ unions say the late release of grade 7 results is behind the postponement.
Acting President Constantino Chiwenga has set February 7 as the tentative date for schools to open.
ZIMSEC spokesperson Nicky Dhlamini said Thursday: “The results are not yet available. We must ask parents and students to be patient with us.
“As you will remember, the exams ended a week before Christmas and the marking did not start until after the New Year. We did not take longer than in previous years, but the exams and corrections started later than previous years.”
Dhlamini said this is also the first time that Continuous Assessment Learning Activity (CALA) grades will be added to final grades, adding new workloads.
“Marking may have ended this week, but it’s not the end. Now we are busy evaluating the marks given by the markers and then we will publish the results. It’s at least a week,” she said.
