Minister Calls For 5 Year Minimum Sentences For Zimsec Exam Leakers, Says 15 000 Exam Cheats Will Not Receive Certificates

Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Paul Mavima has said that the government is reviewing the examination laws so that all those convicted of leaking examination papers will serve a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison. The minister said that this would apply to adults involved in leaking the papers. Under the current Zimbabwe School Examinations Council Act 25:18,

Any person who-

(a) without lawful cause gains access to any examination materials; (b) reveals the contents of any examination material to an unauthorized person; or…shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level seven or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

The minister also said close to 15 000 candidates who were found to have cheated will not be receiving certificates because they are not worthy to be examined by Zimsec.

Speaking to The Standard, Mavima said:

We have done justice. I can tell you we have withheld their certificates because we believe that they are not worth to be graded by our system.

A number of them have been visiting my office asking to be pardoned, but my response has been simple: We need to clean the mess and have our education system trustworthy again.
We don’t allow cheats, hence punishment should be there.

I might not be so exact with the figures, but I can tell you we are punishing people. In fact, we are in the process of reviewing the examination law so that we have a jail sentence for adults who would have been caught involved in cheating and we shall definitely be pushing that we have at least five years as the minimum jail term. This, I believe, will help us deal with adults involved in examination leaks. However, on children we might be tern ent, considering the age and law.

More: Read The Full Interview In The Standard