Centre News Education Hub
Harare-While the country is celebrating the country’s A level and O level results national pass rates constant improvement, the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has offered a candid reflection questioning the integrity and credibility of the Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) inferring the education quality in the country was crumbling.
ZIMSEC released the November 2025 Ordinary level results with a pass rate of 35 percent up from 33.19 percent in 2024, while A Level pass rate was 95, 75 percent, a modest rise from 94, 58 percent in 2024.
ARTUZ said while the results reflect a nominal improvement and marks in the third consecutive year of an upward trend, the union believes that this announcement raises serious concerns that require urgent clarification and transparency.
ARTUZ congratulated and applauded teachers across Zimbabwe who continue to educate learners under extremely difficult conditions despite poor remuneration, inadequate resources, and collapsing infrastructure.
“Teachers have remained committed to their professional duty. This marginal improvement in pass rate is largely a testament to their resilience and sacrifice. However, we strongly note with concern that examination marker who undertook demanding and time-sensitive work are yet to be paid. This is unacceptable and undermines the integrity and sustainability of the examination system” read a statement released by the ARTUZ Information desk.
The union raised deep concern over ZIMSEC’s failure to announce the grading system alongside the release of the results.
“Releasing a pass rate without disclosing the grading framework violates principles of transparency and accountability. We therefore challenge ZIMSEC to publish the grading system used for the 2025 Ordinary Level examinations and should continue, as this information is essential for public trust and academic credibility” said ARTUZ.
ZIMSEC has claimed that there were no leakages in the 2025 examinations but ARTUZ alleges this assertion is unconvincing in the absence of a clear, publicly available whistleblower protection policy.
“Previous years have been marred by credible reports of exam irregularities, and punitive measures alone do not amount to prevention. Silencing reports of malpractice does not mean leakages were curbed. We therefore call on ZIMSEC to institute and publish a robust whistleblower protection policy to encourage transparent reporting of examination misconduct without fear of victimisation” added ARTUZ.
Results were released without a detailed performance breakdown showing how different categories of schools particularly rural versus urban schools and also private versus public schools performed.
ARTUZ said announcing a single national pass rate of 35 percent masks deep inequalities within the education system and denies policymakers, educators, and communities the data required for informed intervention.
ARTUZ also raised concern over the growing perception that examination processes and results are becoming politicised.
“It is worrisome that the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education pre-announced the release date of the results, a role that should fall squarely within the mandate of an independent ZIMSEC. The examination body must operate, and be seen to operate, independently of political influence in order to maintain public confidence. Our position is clear that results should be academic not political” further clarified ARTUZ.
Education experts also warned that the apparent increase in pass rate may partly be explained by learner attrition rather than genuine system improvement.
“According to figures reported by Star FM, the cohort that wrote Grade 7 examinations numbered 325,573 learners, while only 291,341 from the same cohort sat for the Ordinary Level examinations. This significant reduction points to high dropout rates, meaning that many learners were excluded from the final assessment pool. A rising pass rate under such circumstances does not necessarily reflect improved educational outcomes.” said the experts.
ARTUZ said in future ZIMSEC should always release the grading system used for the Ordinary Level examinations and examination markers without further delay.
The union also said a whistleblower protection policy to address examination malpractice transparently and provide a comprehensive results breakdown, including rural–urban and also private versus public performance comparisons and the exam board should safeguard its institutional independence from political interference,
Efforts to get a comment from Zimsec spokesperson, Nicky Dhlamini were fruitless while Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, spokesperson, Taungana Ndoro says he no longer comments on issues raised by Artuz.
