Antony Chawagarira
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has referred the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) Amendment Bill back to Parliament, raising the prospect of further debate on legislation intended to tighten the country’s examination system.
The Bill has been recommitted to the Committee of the Whole House, where legislators will consider the concerns raised by the President before determining its next stage.
Clerk of Parliament Kennedy Chokuda confirmed the referral, saying Parliament was now required to consider the issues raised by the President in terms of the Constitution.
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Tsitsi Gezi formally notified the House of the development, citing Section 131(6)(b) of the Constitution.
The proposed legislation seeks to strengthen examination security, introduce tougher penalties for malpractice and deal with emerging forms of cheating, including the use of smart devices and collusion at examination centres.
However, the Bill had already attracted scrutiny over some of its provisions before its referral by the President.
Legal think-tank Veritas, in its Bill Watch 28/2025 published in August last year, raised several concerns about the proposed amendments, describing the legislation as having a number of drafting and policy weaknesses.
Among the issues identified was the proposed power for Zimsec to deregister examination centres.
Veritas argued that if Zimsec was to be given an express power to deregister centres, the law should clearly state the grounds for such action and require affected centres to be informed of the reasons and given an opportunity to respond.
The organisation also questioned aspects of the proposed restructuring of the Zimsec Examinations Board.
The Bill seeks to reduce the size of the Board and introduce representatives from State and private universities, organised commerce and industry, as well as professionals with expertise in areas including law, auditing, human resources, finance, information technology and risk management.
While acknowledging that the proposed structure could improve the Board’s efficiency through a broader range of expertise, Veritas noted that the Bill did not specifically provide for members with experience in primary and secondary education.
It also raised questions over the position of the Board chairperson and the absence of transitional provisions explaining what would happen to members of the existing Board when the amendments came into force.
The proposed criminal offences and penalties have also been an area of concern.
The Bill seeks to impose stiffer penalties for examination malpractice, with Parliament having previously agreed to increase the maximum penalty from two years to five years.
Other provisions target impersonation, unlawful possession of examination materials, forgery of certificates and results, and other forms of examination-related fraud.
Veritas also questioned some of the wording used to create the offences, warning that certain provisions could potentially criminalise conduct that may not ordinarily amount to examination malpractice.
The organisation further criticised the Bill for concentrating heavily on punishment rather than prevention, arguing that stronger systems and procedures were needed to make examination paper leakages and cheating more difficult in the first place.
The legislation also provides for action against examination centres where more than half of the candidates are found to have contravened examination regulations, including suspension of registration and the holding of fresh examinations at the centre’s expense.
Parliament had subsequently adopted amendments creating an appeal mechanism for candidates and examination centres aggrieved by certain Zimsec decisions.
Such appeals could cover decisions including deregistration, denial of registration as an examination centre and restrictions relating to the scope of registration.
The Bill’s referral by the President now provides Parliament with an opportunity to revisit the proposed amendments and address the reservations before the legislation can proceed towards enactment.
Under Section 131 of the Constitution, Parliament can accommodate the President’s concerns and return the Bill for assent or pass it, with or without amendments, by the constitutionally required two-thirds majority.
The developments come as Government seeks to protect the credibility of Zimbabwe’s public examination system, which has periodically been affected by allegations of examination paper leakages and other forms of malpractice.
The renewed parliamentary scrutiny could therefore result in further changes to the Bill before it eventually returns to the President.
