MOST elite secondary schools around the country are no longer accepting students for Form 1 as vacancies were filled within a week of result...
MOST elite secondary schools around the country are no longer accepting students for Form 1 as vacancies were filled within a week of results being announced.
Grade Seven results were announced last week on Monday and pupils were asked to collect the results on Tuesday. This year’s pass rate for grade 7 is 38,13 percent which reflects a significant improvement from 2012’s 32,2 percent.
Top schools that made it in the top 100 secondary schools this year for the best secondary institutions have been bombarded with prospective students with most surpassing their enrolment figures while some are asking for additional fees from the successful students.
As a result, most parents with children that recently completed Grade Seven are struggling to obtain form one places for next year. The Ministry of Education stopped schools from setting entrance tests for Form One places after this process was fraught with anomalies that bordered on sheer corruption, hence schools were this year recruiting based on results.
When the WeekendPost contacted schools in the top and bottom 10 of the top 100 schools, it was observed that most of these had filled their spaces for an official form one.
When contacted, a Nyazura Adventist Secondary School in Manicaland official said the school had filled all its places for form one.
“We have no places for Form One. We filled the places last week. We started by taking those with four, five and six units but we ended up only taking those with four and five units. Our students pay $520 for fees inclusive of $100 levy. We ended up taking 150 children instead of 145 that we normally take.”
Nyanga High School that was also in the top 10 had filled all its Form One places with students with four units.
“We enrolled only two classes. We got a large number of pupils but our enrolment is small, we took 90 students for Form One.”
A school official at Nyanga High School said Form Ones were required to pay $920 inclusive of $520 school fees, $100 levy that is paid once a year and the rest is for uniforms.
We spoke to a representative of St Mathius Tsodzo School who said the school no longer had places for Form One. The school which was ranked number 100 on the top 100 schools list from Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council (Zimsec) this year said it only took children with four to eight units.
However, some schools are charging prospective Form One pupils a desk fee. A parent told the WeekendPost that she was asked to pay $1 000 desk fee at a catholic secondary school with an additional $950 school fees.
When we tried to get hold of the school yesterday, no one was picking up the phone. Some parents with children with higher points complained that their children did not have a chance and would remain academically poor because they would attend below average schools.
Contacted for comment Education director for ministry of Education Harare Province, Edward Shumba said, “It has not been approved that prospective form One pupils should pay a desk fee. No such fees have been approved and schools doing that should credit the fees to second term or reimburse the money. It is illegal.”
This year’s system of enrolment based on results has irked some parents that thought their children would do well in an entrance tests.
However, a parent Noeline Sambaza who got a place for her brilliant child at Monte Casino Secondary School said: “My child got a place at Monte Casino because she had four units. This saved me the expense of travelling around the country with my child writing entry tests.” – Weekend Post (Margaret Chinowaita)
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| MOST elite secondary schools around the country are no longer accepting students for Form 1 as vacancies were filled within a week of results being announced. |
Top schools that made it in the top 100 secondary schools this year for the best secondary institutions have been bombarded with prospective students with most surpassing their enrolment figures while some are asking for additional fees from the successful students.
As a result, most parents with children that recently completed Grade Seven are struggling to obtain form one places for next year. The Ministry of Education stopped schools from setting entrance tests for Form One places after this process was fraught with anomalies that bordered on sheer corruption, hence schools were this year recruiting based on results.
When the WeekendPost contacted schools in the top and bottom 10 of the top 100 schools, it was observed that most of these had filled their spaces for an official form one.
When contacted, a Nyazura Adventist Secondary School in Manicaland official said the school had filled all its places for form one.
“We have no places for Form One. We filled the places last week. We started by taking those with four, five and six units but we ended up only taking those with four and five units. Our students pay $520 for fees inclusive of $100 levy. We ended up taking 150 children instead of 145 that we normally take.”
Nyanga High School that was also in the top 10 had filled all its Form One places with students with four units.
“We enrolled only two classes. We got a large number of pupils but our enrolment is small, we took 90 students for Form One.”
A school official at Nyanga High School said Form Ones were required to pay $920 inclusive of $520 school fees, $100 levy that is paid once a year and the rest is for uniforms.
We spoke to a representative of St Mathius Tsodzo School who said the school no longer had places for Form One. The school which was ranked number 100 on the top 100 schools list from Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council (Zimsec) this year said it only took children with four to eight units.
However, some schools are charging prospective Form One pupils a desk fee. A parent told the WeekendPost that she was asked to pay $1 000 desk fee at a catholic secondary school with an additional $950 school fees.
When we tried to get hold of the school yesterday, no one was picking up the phone. Some parents with children with higher points complained that their children did not have a chance and would remain academically poor because they would attend below average schools.
Contacted for comment Education director for ministry of Education Harare Province, Edward Shumba said, “It has not been approved that prospective form One pupils should pay a desk fee. No such fees have been approved and schools doing that should credit the fees to second term or reimburse the money. It is illegal.”
This year’s system of enrolment based on results has irked some parents that thought their children would do well in an entrance tests.
However, a parent Noeline Sambaza who got a place for her brilliant child at Monte Casino Secondary School said: “My child got a place at Monte Casino because she had four units. This saved me the expense of travelling around the country with my child writing entry tests.” – Weekend Post (Margaret Chinowaita)
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