A press statement by Professor E Mwenje, Chairperson of Zimbabwe School Examinations Council Board yesterday revealed that 70, 59 percent of students who wrote the Zimbabwe Ordinary Examinations in November 2023 failed to pass 5 or more subjects.
A total of 270 129 candidates sat for the November 2023 examinations as compared to 278 760 candidates who sat for the same examinations in November 2022.
The overall candidature decreased by 8 631 which translates to a 3,1 percent decrease.
In 2023, a total of 185 021 wrote 5 or more subjects and 54 420 passed 5 or more subjects with grade C or better, giving an overall percentage pass rate of 29.41.
The 2022 overall pass rate was 28,96 percent and this shows a paltry 0,45 percent pass rate improvement for 2023.
The November 2023 results show that the percentage pass rate for female candidates was at 30,01 while that of males was at 29,06.
These percentage pass rates increased by 5,03 and 3,9 respectively in favour of the Girl Child.
School candidates who wrote 5 or more subjects in 2023 were 163 533 and 49 373 obtained Grade C or better in 5 or more subjects, yielding a 30.9 percentage pass rate as compared to that of 2022.
162 813 candidates wrote 5 or more subjects in 2022 were 49 501 obtained a Grade C or better in 5 or more subjects resulting in a percentage pass rate of 30,40.
This shows that the 2023 pass rate for school candidates decreased by 0,21 percent.
Private Candidates who wrote 5 or more subjects were 23 095 and 5 047 obtained grade C or better in 5 or more subjects which translates to a pass rate of 21.85 percent as compared to that of 2022 where 20 771 wrote 5 or more subjects with 3 668 obtaining a grade C or better in 5 or more subjects resulting in a pass rate of 17,66 percent.
This shows an increase of 4.19 percent in the 2023 pass rate for private candidates.
A total of 253 special needs candidates sat for a range of subjects from 1 to 13 in 2023.
Of these, 159 wrote 5 or more subjects and 41 passed
The total number of female candidates who sat for the 2023 Ordinary Level Examinations was 141 698 and of these, 96 963 wrote 5 or more subjects with 29 094 passing 5 or more subjects, thus translating to a percentage pass rate of 30.01.
The total number of female candidates who sat for 2022 Ordinary Level Examinations was 146 106 and of these, 97 565 wrote 5 or more subjects which translates to a percentage pass rate of 24,98.
This shows an increase of 5 03 percent in the 2023 pass rate for female candidates.
The total number of male candidates who sat for 2023 Ordinary Level Examinations was 128 431 and of these, 88 088 wrote 5 or more subjects and 25 596 passed 5 or more subjects translating to a percentage pass rate of 29,06.
The number of male candidates who sat for the 2022 Ordinary Level Examinations was 132 653 and of these, 86 018 wrote 5 or more subjects translating to a percentage pass rate of 25,16.
The pass rate of male candidates in 2023 increased by 3.9 percent.