Fear of Poor Exam Grades Amid COVID-19 Grips Pupils

Although final year pupils are back to school in preparation for examinations there is little learning as teachers are on strike. Image by Reuters

BY NQOBILE BHEBHE | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | NOV 9, 2020

COVID-19 has affected the school calendar for the year 2020 globally. For Matabeleland rural learners, poor access to quality education has always had an impact on exam classes outcomes. For this year, their concerns are manifold.

GWANDA (The Citizen Bulletin) — “I have no slightest clue as to what I should be preparing for ahead of the examinations in December,” says a 13-year-old Grade Seven pupil, Sipho Mlalazi*.

Sipho and three other school mates are debating on which subject to study despite having a cluster of past examination papers in front of them at his family’s veranda in Geneva Township, Gwanda.

“The past examination papers contain topics I never learnt. I don’t like Agriculture but I have no choice but to revise these papers,” he says.

Schools closed back in March due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and only gradually reopened in October under a phased approach starting with final year Grades.

The long closure has prompted stakeholders in the education sector to question the government’s wisdom of giving the Zimbabwe School Examination Council (Zimsec) the green light to host public examinations this year.

A major concern among learners, parents and educators is that pupils are ill-prepared.

Deferring exams to 2021 has been suggested with proponents saying pass rates will drop to unprecedented levels as a result.

A 2019 report by Zimsec revealed that a disproportionately high number of schools, 87 percent of them located in rural areas, recorded zero percent pass rates in the Grade Seven exams compared to 45 schools that had 100 percent pass rates.

Lack of infrastructure in most rural schools in Matabeleland South create an unfriendly learning environment. Image by Zimetro News

Matabeleland South had 10 schools at primary level which recorded a zero percent pass rate with the government partly blaming it on resource constraints and poor learning environments for both the learner and the teacher.

Sipho and thousands more learners will however sit for examinations in December armed with less than 100 days of proper learning.

“I missed out on formal learning this year. My classmates and I are struggling to catch up or prepare for exams.”
Sipho Mlalazi*, Grade 7 pupil

Andile Nxumalo (13), Sipho's study partner chips in: “Why are we burdened with exams on things we never learnt. Schools closed for too long because of COVID-19.  It’s unfair.”

Andile says the prospect of performing badly torments him too.

“Imagine what my family and friends will say if I get say aggregate 25. I will be a laughing stock. My brother scored nine points last year and went to boarding school.”

“As for me I foresee myself enrolling at a day school something I don’t want.”

Sipho's mother, Nontobeko Mlalazi, a fulltime housewife continuously checks on the boys and tries to assist.

She says the pandemic which has infected well over 8000 to date in the country has dealt a huge blow on the boys’ education.

“I worry a lot about the boys. Their performance in mock exams is below par.”
Nontobeko Mlalazi, a parent

“All they say is we will fail. It’s a sign that they have given up. COVID-19 lockdown has ruined their future,” she says.

Although Grade 7s are back in school, there is little learning as teachers are on strike demanding better pay and working conditions.

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Advanced Level pupils such as Monica Shumba* who aims to enrol at a law school is equally concerned about her grades.

“I hope Zimsec will recognise the crisis brought by COVID-19 and tweak pass marks for our stream. In the same vein, universities should also lower admission grades for 2020 candidates," says Shumba, a pupil at Gwanda Government Secondary.

An academic Dr Luyanduhlobo Makwati says pupils and examination bodies are in a catch-22 situation.

Learners according to Makwati are far from being geared up for exams “unless the examination body is going to set exams based on the first part of the syllabus which was covered in form 3 or lower six.”

“If the exam will follow the (usual) standard then in view of COVID-19 everyone can tell that learners and teachers are not ready and the results might not be a true reflection of children’s capabilities.”

Thabani Moyo, a teacher, says tampering with the grading system has the potential of “stigmatising this year's cohort.”

“Grading system cannot be reduced unfortunately. If we tamper with the grading system, we will create a serious problem for the coming cohorts.”
Thabani Moyo, a teacher

“Each class is measured against the one that went before it so as to maintain standards. Lowering grades will mean we are also stigmatising this year's cohort. The authorities should just listen, delay the examinations until problems facing the sector due to COVID-19 are solved,” Moyo says.

Moyo also argues that fast tracking exams will affect the competitiveness of the final product.

“We should also remember that we want our products to compete in regional and international markets. Who will take our products knowing that their passes were 'fixed'? None.”

As a quick fix solution, Mlalazi, Sipho’s mother says under these unfortunate circumstances the only feasible solution is for pupils to concentrate on past examination papers and be consistent in mock examinations.

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