Zimsec issuing confirmation certificates to candidates for tertiary education

THE Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) is issuing certificates of confirmation to candidates whose certificates are yet to be processed so that they proceed to tertiary education, Zimsec Director Mr Happy Ndanga has said.

There has been growing concern from candidates who were being denied entry to tertiary institutions or work because the result slips they get do not have security features and some institutions of higher learning and prospective employers doubt their authenticity.

In a statement yesterday, Mr Ndanga said the 2009 backlog had been cleared after the certificates were supplied last year.

Mr Ndanga said the examination body was affected by the economic challenges that bedevilled the country in the past few years thereby making it difficult for it to make available the certificates for the Ordinary Level and Advanced Level.

The printing services for certificates are found in the United Kingdom.

"During the economic meltdown foreign exchange was in short supply and it was therefore, very difficult to get Pound Sterling to buy certificates and security printers from our traditional suppliers in the United Kingdom," said Mr Ndanga.

He said the situation caused a backlog, which only eased with the introduction of the multi-currency system.

"The backlog built up until the economy started trading in multi-currency and money became available.

"Orders for the June and November 2009 certificates were placed in May 2011 and the certificates were supplied in September last year," said Mr Ndanga.

He said the long delay in issuing the certificates was also due to a need to incorporate new tamper-proof features on the certificates to make them less prone to forgery and counterfeit.

"In the meantime, candidates whose certificates have not been issued are given confirmation letters free of charge," said Mr Ndanga.

There has been an outcry that Zimsec was charging $50 for candidates to get their certificates.

He dismissed as untrue allegations candidates were being charged for the certificates.

"The $50 is actually a charge to send the document by courier as Zimsec cannot absorb the cost of sending these documents and has to ask the candidate to pay," he said.

This year the examination body released O-level and A-level results on time, as testimony the body had recovered from the challenges it faced in the past.

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