ZIMSEC Exam Registration To Be Compulsory, But Cambridge Not Banned – Minister Moyo

Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Torerayi Moyo, has clarified that the Government’s new policy requiring all schools to register learners for Zimbabwe School Examinations Council examinations does not constitute a ban on Cambridge examinations, but rather reflects an assertion of national sovereignty over Zimbabwe’s education system.

Earlier this week, the minister told Senators that, with effect from 2027, all schools in Zimbabwe, without exception, will be required to enrol their learners for ZIMSEC examinations.

Posting on X on Friday, 1 May, Moyo declared that the era of parallel foreign examination systems operating outside Zimbabwe’s national structure had come to an end.

“From 2027, Zimbabwe will require every school without exception to register its learners for ZIMSEC examinations,” said Minister Moyo.

“The era of parallel foreign examination systems operating outside our national framework is over. It’s mandatory for all students to write ZIMSEC.

“However, schools wishing to offer both ZIMSEC and Cambridge should apply for permission to do so, provided there is justification for it.

“This is not an attack on academic excellence. We are not banning Cambridge examinations. This is an assertion of national sovereignty over our own Education System.”

Minister Moyo said Zimbabwe’s children deserve to be assessed against a common, uniform standard—one that the Government can control, benchmark, and continually improve.

“For too long, a two-tier system has told some children that their futures are validated in Cambridge and told others that ZIMSEC is somehow second best. That ends now,” he added.

“Private institutions operating on Zimbabwean soil have a clear directive: align with the national framework.

“This is not negotiable. Government policy is unambiguous: comply or fall out of step with the direction this Republic is moving. We are building one education system. One standard. One Zimbabwe.

“Every child, regardless of the school they attend or the uniform they wear, deserves equal recognition under a national framework that belongs to all of us. All School Kids are the same.”

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