HARARE – Private school learners will be compelled to sit ZIMSEC examinations from 2027, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education has announced.

Torerayi Moyo told the Senate on Friday that schools can still continue offering Cambridge examinations – but only in addition to ZIMSEC.

“Starting next year, all the schools in this country are going to offer one examination, the Zimbabwe School Examination Council. It will be mandatory for all the schools in Zimbabwe, according to the law. The law says that there must be one curriculum, which is in the Constitution of Zimbabwe,” Moyo said.

The minister, who said he visited England last month, noted that English schools had moved away from Cambridge examinations in favour of AQA, and that all schools there were required to follow the national curriculum.

“It is only here that people think that Cambridge examinations are the best,” he said.

“That is why we have said that in 2027, every school must be offering Zimbabwe School Examination Council examinations but we have allowed them, if they think their students are bright and intelligent enough, they can offer both Cambridge and ZIMSEC but they must justify how they are going to achieve it.”

It was not immediately clear how Moyo intends to enforce the directive.