HARARE – The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) says the pass rate for the Advanced Level class of November 2018 dropped slightly compared to the previous year.
Zimsec announced the release of the A’ Level results on Monday, showing a pass rate of 81.9 percent, down from 82.6 percent.
Zimsec board chairman Professor Eddie Mwenje said: “It’s important to note that in 2017, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education introduced a new curriculum for the Advanced Level candidates whose results we are releasing today.
“The November 2018 Advanced Level examination, therefore, was the first on the new curriculum.”
Some 46,478 students sat the examinations, down from 49,494 in 2017. Of that number, 45,570 candidates sat two or more subjects of which 38,050 obtained Grade E or better.
Prof Mwenje said 42,903 candidates registered three or more subjects, of which 1,566 scored 15 points or more.
Most subjects had an average pass rate of 75 percent, but candidates found Geography the most challenging with just 54.71 percent passing.
Prof Mwenje added in a statement: “The total number of school candidates was 40,300. Of this number 39,811 wrote two or more subjects and 34,139 obtained Grade E or better in two or more subjects, yielding 84.7 percent.
“Private candidates were 6,178 and of this number 5,759 wrote two or more subjects and 3,944 obtained a Grade E or better in two or more subjects, which translated to a percentage pass rate of 63.8 percent.”
Of the candidates who sat for the examination, 21,457 were males and 18,842 female.
