ZIMSEC Grade Inflation

On ZIMSEC Grade Inflation: A Disgraceful and Shameful National Cancer

By Arthur G.O. Mutambara

former Deputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe

I have seen press reports about this year’s Ordinary Level and Advanced Level Examination results all over the place. I want to congratulate all the students, schools and teachers who excelled. Makorokoto makuru (Congratulations)!!

However, on the ZIMSEC Advanced Level Examination results, there is a slight problem of grade inflation – a pernicious and ruinous national cancer. How do you get one school getting 79 students with 15 points (or more) out of 140 candidates? This is 56% of the students getting the same top examination outcome. This is shameless grade inflation. Throughout the country, some schools have such results as 37, 25 or such large numbers of 15-pointers each. While these achievements must be celebrated and the students applauded, there is a problem.

How do you differentiate these multitudes of 15-pointer kids? The very top students (the superstars) are now hidden and buried among the 79, 37 and 25, for example. You cannot tell who they are. How do you get them scholarships or secure places for them into top universities such as Oxford, Harvard or Cambridge, when there are a 1000 students with 15 points from Zimbabwe. It is meaningless. You probably have to give them another examination to distinguish and differentiate them.

The 2019 ZIMSEC Advanced Level Examination results do not follow a standard normal distribution curve. How do you get 56% of the students from one school obtaining the same top examination outcome? These results are a disservice to the best and brightest students. In fact, they are a disservice to all the students.

Grade inflation is not a good idea. I have received many requests from these students with 15 points or more from this year's results, asking for opportunities at top universities across the world. While I congratulate the high achievers and I am excited for them, it is very tough to sell their outstanding results to great institutions outside Zimbabwe, because of the obvious and disgraceful grade inflation. Do you approach Oxford or Harvard with 1000 such 15-pointers from Zimbabwe? It is a joke.

Why do we say this? When you present 1000 students with 15 points from one country (obtained in one sitting) to a university like Oxford or Harvard, it is meaningless because the 1000 students are not differentiated. You cannot tell who is in the top 10 or 20 among the 1000 outstanding candidates. You put the top university in an invidious situation. They cannot admit them, and yet some of the 1000 students would definitely qualify to study in these top and globally competitive programmes. However, you do not know who they are. You might have to give the 1000 students another examination to rank them. This is the challenge that is presented by grade inflation.

ZIMSEC must sort out this mess.

For sure, getting 35 points or 25 points is an indicator of differentiation. However, the standard Advanced Level Examination is three subjects. So, attaining 15 points from 3 subjects (3As) becomes the ultimate and uniform measure of the highest excellence. Yes, you can say the 35-pointer has differentiated himself or herself. Agreed. However, taking more than three subjects is not the standard format of the Advanced Level Examination. Very few students do that. More importantly, when they do not take more than three subjects, that act/choice must not count against them in terms of excellence.

Now, how about the 1000 with three As (who only took three subjects) each? Are they all equal? How do top universities choose the best among these 1000 students? How do you differentiate these 1000? Surely some of them are superstars who qualify to enter Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard or Stanford. But we cannot tell who they are from the 1000. This is the challenge I am flagging which is occasioned by grade inflation.

Globally grade inflation is a well-known concept. There have been cases in African countries (e.g. Nigeria), the United States, and Europe. In the High School sector, the UK has been effectively grappling with it by having several private examination boards that compete, thus shaming and minimising the occurrence of this scourge.

In analysing the ZIMSEC outcomes, it is clear that certainly, our children are not getting too smart. That is not the issue. The problems are the standard of the examination, the marking systems and grading thereafter. It is a ZIMSEC problem. And no, the internet and its platforms such as Google or Wikipedia is not the issue. We just have to be creative, resourceful and imaginative examiners. Furthermore, our marking and grading must be sophisticated. Despite the advent of Google, proper exams can still be administered. Those who took Cambridge Advanced Level Examination in 2019 do not have this grade inflation problem.

Our challenge is that we have one national, incompetently state-run, examination body. We need to rethink, reimagine and re-invent ZIMSEC. The key leaders and professional of this institution must understand the meaning and impact of grade inflation. In the UK, as already indicated, they have several privately run examination bodies that compete and thus mitigate and manage the occurrence of grade inflation.

By the way, once they are admitted into top global universities, students from our great country, generally distinguish themselves. With the tremendous and world-renowned Zimbabwean work ethic and drive, they usually take care of business. Sometimes, getting into these top schools is now the problem, and not performance once admitted. I sit on the Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee. Getting the Rhodes Scholarship does NOT guarantee you a place at Oxford University. There is a separate application process into Oxford.

About five years ago, one of our two Rhodes Scholarship choices: A First Class Degree in Computer Science from UZ could not get a place at Oxford University! They asked the selected Rhodes Scholar to spend a year at the lower-ranked Brookes University (next door to Oxford) for a year, and prove himself first, then apply again to the University of Oxford.

Of course, the young man was shuttered and humiliated. But he braved it, spent the year at Brookes, and eventually gained entrance into the University of Oxford. He is now a proud Oxonian. But can you imagine the ordeal and psychological trauma that the young man, had to go through? Was it necessary?

Now, do you know why the University of Oxford did this to our Rhodes Scholar? Because UZ gave a PhD to Grace Mugabe after three months, Oxford basically discounted the young man's First Class to a Third!

These are the things we do to undermine our superstar students!

We ought to stop.

The ZIMSEC grade inflation is one step too far. We must protect the brand, opportunities and possibilities of all our students – the country’s future human capital – starting from Primary School, through High School, right up to Tertiary Education.

In case some might think that the Advanced Level Examination grade inflation will only affect entry into elite or Ivy League schools like Harvard and Oxford; to the contrary, the issue will also negatively impact fair admission into local universities. Any examination that says 56% are equally NUMBER ONE is meaningless. More importantly, such results are useless for university admission purposes. Forget Oxford and Harvard. Let us stay local. With these 1000 fifteen pointers, how are you going to decide who gets into UZ law or UZ Medicine? The 79 (15 pointers) kids from Pamushana and 15 pointers from one or two other schools can easily fill up those two programs. What will happen to other 15 pointers (from the 1000) who also want to be enrolled in the two courses at UZ? What reason will you give them for not qualifying into these two programs at UZ?

Let us make the numbers do some more talking. Out of 1000 fifteen pointers, how many qualify for a Law Degree at UZ? Probably 300. How many qualify for a Degree in Medicine at UZ, probably 200. Assuming UZ Law takes 80 a year and Medicine 70 a year, there is a potential problem. How do you objectively select the 80 and 70, out of the 300 and 200 respectively? Are we going to apply subjective ad hoc terms which are most likely to disadvantage the poor and the unconnected?

The same above analysis can be made for departments at any of the other national tertiary institutions, be it NUST, MSU or Africa University. It is not just a question of whether we can absorb all these qualified students into Zimbabwean tertiary institutions, but rather ensuring fair and scientific admission into these universities based on meaningful results. Hence, you can disregard any reference to elite or Ivy League Schools – Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, etc. – or any foreign interests for that matter. Grade inflation is bad for Zimbabwe, period. The case against grade inflation has nothing to do with trying to please elite or Ivy League Schools. Don’t hide behind cheap, primitive and unsophisticated decolonisation or anti-imperialism arguments. We have been independent for 40 years and running our own education system in those years. As free Zimbabweans – proud Africans – we have created this problem. We must solve it to please ourselves and nobody else.

We must think again.

For the record, we are not necessarily challenging the quality of education acquired or the capacity of the students produced. We have not reached that stage, yet. I am just emphasising differentiation of the product. The product (our students) is fairly solid and can compete globally. Lack of differentiation damages the brand and deny the product opportunities to excel and flourish in Zimbabwe and beyond our borders. No one should be suffocated or disparaged for doing well. Neither should we grade for available opportunities. We just want meaningful examination results that we can use for university admission and other developmental purposes.

Furthermore, it is essential to posit that what we are addressing here is neither a problem of sheer absorption capacity nor the challenge of too many qualified students. Not at all. While those could be secondary concerns, they are not the issues at play at all, in this conversation. This discussion is about meaningful and fair absorption within the country. It is about the effective interface with other jurisdictions academically. We need meaningful examination results, period. That there are too many or too few qualified students is a separate though essential conversation.

What is the way forward?

We need to rethink, re-engineer, re-imagine and redesign ZIMSEC. We need creative, resourceful and imaginative examiners, backed by sophistication in marking and grading. The lack of rigour and tenacity in both developing and grading the examinations are the key drivers of grade inflation. We need quality examiners who understand grade dynamics, all grounded in quality teaching and curriculum understanding. ZIMSEC must not tolerate inefficient and incompetent markers. Curriculum development, teaching and the examinations, thereafter, must be anchored in learners' pursuit of competencies such as problem-solving, learning how to learn, mastering how to think, and blended learning; all rooted in a multidisciplinary approach to education. We need to rethink, reimagine, re-engineer and redesign ZIMSEC. We need meaningful examination results which we can effectively use as a country and which also allow us to interface with other jurisdictions meaningfully. We must eliminate any elements of direct or indirect political interference which compromise the quality of our education system and its products. There should be no place for scoring cheap political mileage by awarding inflated grades. This is ruinous and detrimental to our children. We must protect the brand, opportunities and impact of our education products – our priceless human capital. In doing so, we can pick up lessons from other jurisdictions that have addressed the grade inflation challenge. Zimbabwe can fix this scourge. However, we must first accept that it exists. A problem realised is a problem half-solved.

We must jealously guard the globally renowned quality and efficacy of our entire education system from Primary School to Tertiary Education. We must find ways of restoring institutional and individual integrity, pride in good work ethics, discipline and quality work across the entire education sector.

Sorting out the mess and rot at ZIMSEC – the disgraceful and shameful grade inflation – is a national imperative.

Yes, we can solve this challenge in pursuit of our national interest.

ZANU-PF Rigs Elections

ZANU-PF’s Political Reforms to Rig Elections

By Arthur G.O. Mutambara

former Deputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe

We have been talking about the need for political reforms to level the political playing field thus facilitating credible, free and fair elections in Zimbabwe. While we have argued that political reforms are necessary but not sufficient, we have also emphasised that without these reforms all other interventions are futile. We having been insisting on dialogue and agreement about these reforms, and thereafter their effective implementation.

As we posit these averments, it is instructive to note that ZANU-PF is actually designing and implementing political reforms – albeit in the opposite direction! While we are in a political slumber and majoring in minors, ZANU-PF is busy carrying out political changes to enable the theft and rigging of elections. More importantly, they are putting in place political reforms that will allow them to steal or rig those polls with absolute impunity.

One of the key objectives of the 2013 Constitution was to whittle down the authority of an all-powerful presidency. This was not sufficiently addressed but significant inroads were made. However, on 17 December 2019, the ZANU-PF government announced a raft of measures to roll-back that progress and reintroduce an imperial presidency through Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2019. They seek to remove the running mate clause so that the President will appoint and fire his two deputies. They intend to abolish the use of public hearings from the appointment of Judges and return that authority to the President. Furthermore, they propose the appointment by the President of the following: Chief Secretary to President and Cabinet and the deputies; Public Protector and deputy; and the Prosecutor General. This an unequivocal and unambiguous reconstruction of the pre-2013 all-powerful presidency. In fact, it is even more consolidated and over-reaching than obtaining pre-2013.

An imperial presidency is central to the orchestration of fraudulent electoral processes. It enables the rigging of elections and guarantees impunity for electoral theft. When one is aggrieved with electoral outcomes, where do you go? To the courts (High Court, Supreme Court, and Constitutional Court), right? Who will be manning those courts? Compromised judges appointed by an illegitimate President who is a product of electoral theft! What justice do you expect?

A further cynical part of the ZANU-PF’s Constitutional changes announced on 17 December, is the obvious and shameless reward to Chief Justice Luke Malaba for his role in upholding the results of the fraudulent 2018 Presidential elections. He is due for retirement soon, but ZANU-PF has put a specific provision that allows him (beyond the retirement age of 70) to renew his contract annually, for a period not exceeding five years. How sick can we get?

Let us be woke. Political reforms are taking place. There are just in the opposite direction. ZANU-PF is busy implementing reforms to rig elections with absolute impunity.

The Best Path to a Prosperous Zimbabwe

The Best Path to a Prosperous Zimbabwe

By Prof. Arthur G.O. Mutambara

Former Deputy Prime Minister, Zimbabwe

(A Response to the Keynote Address by SA Minister of International Relations and Cooperation – Naledi Pandor – at a Symposium on Zimbabwe at UNISA, Pretoria, South Africa, on 18 November 2019)

The starting point in the journey to a prosperous Zimbabwe is to understand the nature and character of Zimbabwe's problems. The country has inextricably linked, seemingly intractable, political and economic challenges. On the political side, there is a nagging political crisis of legitimacy and governance. The key problem is that of polarisation, which is a product of legitimacy issues arising from a disputed outcome of the July 2018 presidential elections. Compounding this quagmire, is the dearth of leadership and statesmanship in the country.

The economy is in free fall, debt-ridden and characterised by a shortage of electricity, a currency crisis, hyperinflation and low productivity coupled with low capacity utilisation. Further challenges include unprecedented deindustrialisation, a crippling trade deficit, lack of competitiveness, high sovereign risk undermining FDI, reckless spending by a blotted and profligate government, a shrinking tax base, and debilitating unemployment. Social services have collapsed, in particular, the healthcare sector.

With an unequivocal and robust appreciation of the political and economic nature of the beast, the next step is to develop and proffer both political and economic solutions, taking cognisance of the primacy of the political interventions. Without resolution of the political challenges, all economic efforts will be futile. Toxic politics create a disenabling environment for economics.

A prosperous Zimbabwe demands peace, security, stability and unity of purpose. Zimbabweans must find each other. It is essential to engage in genuine all-inclusive dialogue rooted in absolute clarity on the causes of the current polarisation. The agenda, format, structure and objectives of the dialogue must be clear and shared by all protagonists. Pursuit and centrality of the national interest must force all Zimbabweans to acknowledge the immortality of the case and need for an all-inclusive conversation.

There is a need for all stakeholders to agree on and implement political reforms to deepen democracy and enhance accountability in general, while specifically improving the management of election processes to ensure freeness, fairness, credibility and transparency, thus guaranteeing undisputed poll outcomes. This will address the major source of Zimbabwe’s perennial polarisation – stolen or rigged elections. Electoral reforms must be implemented to enable fair, free and credible elections, reduce disputed poll outcomes and thus prevent illegitimacy. ZEC must be reformed as the manager of elections in Zimbabwe. It has perennially and consistently – in 2002, 2008, 2013 and 2018 – failed to deliver legitimate election results.

Beyond elections, there is a need for electoral reforms to broaden and deepen the democratic space in the country. These reforms include ensuring impartiality and independence of state institutions; a functionally independent judiciary; genuine reform of oppressive legislation which inhibit political rights and freedoms – not the charade which was witnessed with the enactment of an equally pernicious MOPA which replaced POSA; training of law enforcement agents and institutions to ensure constitutional and measured policing; curtailment of politically motivated arrests; removal of impunity by ensuring that perpetrators of politically motivated violations and human rights abuses are held to account; and emphasis on Parliament as source of laws and not statutory instruments or decrees. There must be security sector reforms to enable demilitarization of politics and public administration. Furthermore, the state media must be professionalised to ensure non-partisan coverage. Major media reforms are required to enable independent private player participation in all forms of media, including radio and television. All provisions of the 2013 National Constitution must be complied with, in particular, devolution of public service provision to provinces and municipalities.

While political reforms are critical, it is imperative and prudent to note that they are necessary but not sufficient for a successful journey to a prosperous Zimbabwe. With a solid foundation anchored in agreed and implemented political reforms, Zimbabweans must then collectively develop and adopt a shared national vision and strategy with three pillars – social, political and economic. The vision framework must have overarching values and principles to underpin a new dispensation. Mega-impact projects must be identified, which will have a disproportionate impact on economic growth and GDP. To complement the shared national vision, a national brand must be crafted to sharpen country competitiveness and foster country reputation management.

Implementation planning and dogged execution must accompany all national plans, while monitoring and evaluation are dutifully applied. There is need to develop detailed economic blueprints and implementation plans for all key sectors such as Agriculture, Mining, Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Health, Education and Tourism, with emphasis on moving up global value chains, innovation and entrepreneurship, use of high technology and climate change – proofing of all initiatives.

In addressing the prevailing debilitating economic challenges, holistic solutions targeting the underlying causes must always be sought. For example, the currency crisis is a symptom of the general economic malaise pervading the country. This must be taken cognisance of. One can introduce as many currencies or reforms as they wish, but without addressing the fundamental issues, it will all be in vain. Currency reforms must be predicated upon confidence and trust in the country and its economy by its citizens, businesses and investors. There must be enhanced productivity and production as a foundation for effective currency interventions. There must be reserves to back any new currency while fiscal consolidation, coupled with the elimination of profligacy, is instituted. There is a need to ring-fence savings, deposits and pensions from the potential value destruction that might be occasioned by currency reforms.

Sanctions constitute a symptom of bigger problems in Zimbabwe. Zimbabweans must solve these more significant and massive challenges by embracing what has been articulated above. Sanctions are not the core issue in Zimbabwe. In any case, Zimbabweans must address the reasons why the sanctions were imposed in the first place. This must be done, not to please the external players – the imposers of sanctions – but in pursuit of our national interest. For the avoidance of doubt, this does not imply reversing the land reform program. Not at all. Furthermore, we must address self-imposed sanctions which are in the form of corruption, primitive accumulation, misgovernance, the rigging of elections, violation of human rights, disrespect of the rule of law, police brutality, and general subjugation of citizens.

Beyond the country, Zimbabwe must leverage continental integration and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Africans across the continent must take a vested interest approach to the resolution of Zimbabwean challenges. Why? First and foremost, all people of African descent are the same people. Ubuntu and Pan Africanism bind us together. Secondly, the economic prosperity of African countries is inextricably linked. Under globalisation, our African economies will flourish or degenerate together.

The above framework will constitute the Best Path to a Prosperous Zimbabwe.