GOVERNMENT has stirred a hornet’s nest after declaring that Grade 7 pupils who finished writing their end of year Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) tests yesterday will continue attending school.
Also banned by the government are school field trips for the junior school graduands, giving rise to angry reactions from parents and teacher unions who said they saw no sense in the decree.
Many parents who had travelled to boarding schools hoping to collect their children returned home empty-handed following the government order, triggering anger among the parents who had over the years been used to collecting their children soon after they completed writing their examinations.
In a circular dated October 5, 2023, the Primary and Secondary Education ministry ordered all schools to ensure that pupils attended schools until the end of the third term.
The ministry’s permanent secretary Kwadzanai Nyanungo also banned the Grade Seven pupils from conducting field trips after sitting for their examinations, citing safety concerns.
“The time after the last Grade 7 examination paper is not a school holiday because all Grade 7 pupils should attend classes until the end of the term. Heads of schools are duty-bound to make solid arrangements for all Grade 7 pupils to receive meaningful lessons and practical exercise in preparations for their transition to secondary school,” Nyanungo said.
“For the safety of pupils and curriculum alignment, no education tours should be undertaken by school after the Grade 7 examinations.”
Government also banned schools from holding fund-raising programmes.
According to information gathered by NewsDay, several schools had planned field trips after the Grade 7 Zimsec examinations, with parents having already paid for the trips to mainly tourist resorts such as Victoria Falls, Kariba and Nyanga.
