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Columbus Mabika Herald Reporter
The 2018 Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) Grade Seven results are out and candidates can start collecting them from their schools today, ZIMSEC board chairman Professor Eddie Mwenje said in a statement yesterday.

“The ZIMSEC board and management would like to advise the nation of the release of the October 2018 ZIMSEC,” he said.

“Candidates who sat for this examination will be able to collect their results from their respective schools from Tuesday 4 December,”.

Prof Mwenje said the candidates recorded a 52,08 percent pass rate.

“The total number of candidates who sat the 2018 Grade Seven examination was 327 492. This is 0,43 percent higher than the October 2017 entry which was 326 109. The 2018 national pass rate is 52,08 percent which is an increase on the 2017 national pass rate of 44,73 percent. The pass rate increased by 7,35 percent,”

Prof Mwenje said indigenous languages recorded the highest subject pass rates while there was also an improvement in Agriculture which was being written for the second time.

“Indigenous languages recorded the highest subject pass rates. Shona and Tonga recorded pass rates of above 85 percent while Nambya and Kalanga recorded pass rates of 73 percent. There was also an improvement in the performance of candidates who wrote Agriculture from 48,51 percent in 2017 to 66,96 percent in 2018,”

Prof Mwenje said the results showed a development in the excellence of learning in Zimbabwean primary schools over the years.

“The candidature increased by 6,85 percent from 306 490 in 2014 to 327 942 in 2018. The national pass rate leapt by 14 percent to 52,08 percent over the same period. This suggests that there is a marked improvement in the quality of education in Zimbabwean primary schools over the years,” he said.

He said female candidates performed better than male candidates since 2014 and in 2018, the margin between the performance of male and female candidates was widest at 5,99 percent.

Prof Mwenje also said there was an increase in the pass rate of learners with special needs

“Braille candidates achieved a 61,36 pass rate. In 2017 the percentage pass rate was at 39,29 percent. Candidates with physical impairments were examined for the first time in 2018,” he said.