High Court judge Justice Davison Foroma has overturned a decision by the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) which barred 15-year-old Shelter Chisiri from sitting for Ordinary Level examinations this year. Zimsec said that according to its regulation all candidates are required to have a National Identity Card or Passport, or Driver’s licence bearing their picture. However, Shelter failed to secure these documents in time for her examinations which were scheduled to begin on 15 October 2018 prompting her mother to approach the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) for help.
ZLHR through its lawyer Denford Halimani filed an urgent chamber application on Thursday 11 October 2018 seeking an order to suspend Zimsec’s irrational decision as Shelter could not secure a national identity document because she was not yet 16 years of age. They highlighted that Shelter had already applied for a passport which was yet to come out. The application also highlighted that Zimsec’s regulations were discriminatory.
Justice Foroma agreed and granted the order suspending Zimsec’s decision to bar Shelter from writing her Ordinary Level examinations. He said that she could write upon the mere production of her birth certificate.
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