ZIMBABWE School Examination Council (zimsec) examinations started in earnest last week but some candidates failed to sit due to failure to obtain national identity cards.

John Mhandu (not his real name) missed two of  his Ordinary Level papers in Mathematics and Commerce.

“I had registered to write five subjects that I failed last year when I was still a formal pupil. Back then, there was no need for me to have an ID card.

“But I’m now a private learner at a local college and the law requires me to have one. I hoped to have obtained an ID card by now but my plans were derailed by the lockdown. I still hope though that I will be able to write the other three subjects,” said Mhandu.

A ZIMSEC directive makes it compulsory for candidates, particularly private pupils, to produce any form of national identity documents – passport or driver’s licence, in order to sit for an examination.

“The issue of ID cards falls under the Registrar General’s office, we are not sure whether the pupil(s) in question have missed examinations because of the documents or other issues.

“Candidates should be organised enough to get ID cards in time as the law is clear. Without an ID, you will not be allowed into the examination room,” said Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education communications and advocacy director Mr Taungana Ndoro.

However, some pupils currently do not have any of the documents. The Registrar General (RG)’s Department, which issues national identity documents, was forced into a long break due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

Government began a nationwide lockdown on March 30 as a way to curb the spread of Covid-19. The lockdown has since been relaxed with all essential services and registered informal traders now allowed to resume work. But, while noble, the lockdown complicated operations at the RG’s office that was already struggling to meet the public’s demand for crucial national documents.-The Sunday Mail