THE ZIMBABWE School Examination Council (Zimsec) on Friday released the October 2019 Grade Seven Examination results which showed a national pass rate of 46.9 percent.
The 2019 national pass rate was a decrease from the 2018 national pass rate of 52.08 percent, Zimsec noted.
Candidates who sat for the examination will be able to collect results from their respective schools from Monday, 25 November.
“The total number of candidates who sat for the 2019 Grade Seven Examination was 323 207. This is 1.06 percent lower than the October 2018 entry which was 326 685. The 2019 national pass rate is 46.9 percent which is a decrease on the 2018 national pass rate of 52.08 percent. Although the national pass rate decreased by 5.18 percent, a pass rate of more than 50 percent was recorded in all subjects,” Zimsec chairperson Eddie Mawere noted in a statement.
“Indigenous languages again recorded the highest subject pass rates. Shona and Ndebele recorded pass rates above 80 percent. Kalanga, Xichangana and Tshivenda recorded pass rates above 70 percent while Tonga and Nambya of over 60 percent. Sesotho was assessed for the first time this session and it recorded a pass rate of 68.48 percent,” Mawere added.
Zimsec noted that in 2019 more female candidates were registered than their male counterparts.
“The results of 2019 show a decline in the pass rates for both male and female candidates. It can, however, be noted that female candidates performed better than male candidates,” Mawere said.
There was a decrease in the pass rate of learners with special needs.
“The performance of candidates for Braille and Large Print and Hard of Hearing and Physical Impairments was comparable to the national pass rate,” he concluded.