Moffat Mungazi
Samuel Kadungure and Ray Bande
MANICALAND continues to excel in academic endeavours after posting the best Advanced Level average pass-rate of 97,05 percent — higher than the national pass-rate of 94,58 percent.
All districts in Manicaland attained above 90 percent pass-rate, with Buhera scoring 97,8 percent, while Makoni had 97,3 percent pass-rate. Mutare District had 96,54 percent pass-rate, while Nyanga District achieved a 97,16 percent pass-rate.
Chimanimani District had a 98,23 percent pass-rate. Mutasa District, which is the highest performing district in the province, achieved a 98,75 percent pass-rate, while Chipinge District, which was the lowest in the province, had a 93,58 percent.
Manicaland Provincial Education Director, Mr Richard Gabaza commended stakeholders in the education sector for a sterling job.
“It is, indeed, a commendable performance from our A-Level results in Manicaland. In fact, it was quite a remarkable improvement from previous years. This is a job well done to all stakeholders involved, including teachers, parents and guardians and the learners themselves. Our pass-rate as a province, not only surpassed the national pass-rate, but was also the best compared to other provinces. We are, indeed, proud of this wonderful academic performance as a province,” he said.
Mr Gabaza noted an impressive performance by least expected schools to achieve good results, like Sakubva 1 High School.
With a total of 65 candidates that achieved 15 points and above, St Faith’s High School continued to set the pace. Sakubva 1 High School, a day school in Mutare affirmed its status as a force to reckon with; perched second, with a total of 41 learners with 15 points and above.
Fast-rising academic giant, First Class Academy had 34 candidates, while Chipinge high-density day school Gaza High defied the odds to settle for fourth position with 30 learners with 15 points and above.
Mr Gabaza, said: “The most encouraging thing is that even day schools in the rustic world managed to produce 15 pointers, which is a rare academic feat judging from previous years.
“The other important aspect to note from this year’s results is that Sakubva 1 High School has proved to be an academic powerhouse to reckon with, while St Faith’s High managed to maintain its pacesetting position, which is also commendable. Most of the boarding schools lived up to expectations.
However, others are urged to improve.”
Other urban day schools that did fairly well include the Roman Catholic-run St Dominic’s High School and Dangamvura High School, which had 25 and 16 candidates with 15 points and above, respectively.
A total of 1 204 candidates who sat the November 2024 Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) Ordinary Level examinations in Manicaland achieved outstanding results, obtaining between five and 19 As.
This impressive performance paved the way for their academic progression to Advanced Level and other avenues.
The province, in November 2023 had 984 candidates achieving 5As or more, with a learner from St Faith’s High School setting a provincial record with an exceptional 20As.
Mr Gabaza hailed the latest academic achievement in Manicaland as unprecedented, expressing delight that the province has surpassed the national average pass rate of 33,19 percent.
This impressive feat is a testament of the hard work and dedication of learners, teachers, parents and guardians and the education sector as a whole in Manicaland.
Mr Gabaza said Makoni, the largest district in the country, produced 313 candidates with 5As and above.
The highest-achieving learner in the district was from St Faith’s High School, who achieved a whopping 19As.
In 2023, the district had 305 candidates with 5As and above.
Mutasa District has 277 candidates with 5As, while Mutare has 237. Nyanga has 140 and Chipinge has 104. Buhera and Chimanimani districts had 87 and 47 candidates with 5As and above, respectively.
In 2023, Mutasa had 236 candidates with 5As and above, Mutare (155), Nyanga (105), Chipinge (93), Buhera (65), and Chimanimani (25).
According to Mr Gabaza, St David’s Bonda Girls’ High School, run by the Anglican Diocese of Manicaland, topped the list of best-performing schools, with 98 candidates achieving 5As and above.
In 2023, the Bonda had an impressive 106 candidates with 5As and above, including five top performers who garnered 13As, seven with 12As, 10 with 11As, and 14 with 10As.
Another girls’ boarding school, Kriste Mambo High, run by the Roman Catholic Church, followed closely with 90 candidates achieving 5As and above.
St Faith’s High School, which usually dominates O-Level results, came third with 87 candidates achieving 5As and above, while St Augustine’s High was fourth with 79 candidates.
Rounding out the top five was Nyazura Adventist High School, with 65 candidates achieving 5As and above.
In 2023, St Faith’s High had 125 candidates with 5As and above followed by Kriste Mambo with 79 candidates that obtained 5As and above. Their best candidate had 13As, followed by nine others with 12As.
“We did tremendously well as a province, though we have not yet compared with other provinces because we are still working on the analysis.
In Manicaland, we have schools that scored quite high numbers of candidates with 5As and above. This was a cursory analysis and a detailed one will come from schools via their respective district offices. Topping the list is St David’s Bonda Girls’ High, which had 98 candidates with 5As and above, followed by Kriste Mambo with 90 candidates, then St Faith’s High with 87 candidates, St Augustine’s High with 79, and Nyazura High with 65 candidates.
“We also had rural-located schools that performed very well. To me, finding rural schools with at least two or three candidates achieving an aggregate of 5As and above is tremendous effort,” said Mr Gabaza.
Mr Gabaza said achieving a total of 1 204 candidates scoring 5As and above is a milestone never seen before.
“In terms of the total number of candidates with 5As and above, we have 1 204. This is unprecedented. We have never had such a high number before, and we are proud of our performance as a province. As for the districts, Makoni tops the list with 313 candidates, followed by Mutasa with 277, Mutare (237), Nyanga (140), Chipinge (104), Buhera (87), and lastly Chimanimani (46),” said Mr Gabaza, adding that several urban day schools also excelled in the 2024 ZIMSEC exams.
“We must appreciate the performance of day schools like St Dominic’s High, which had 52 candidates with 5As and above. Such an achievement from a day school located in town is truly commendable. Although boarding schools generally dominate in terms of the number of learners with 5As and above, we also saw impressive results from day schools like St Dominic’s High, Vengere High, and Gaza High, each with around 12 candidates achieving 5As and above. We appreciate the effort made by our province, and believe we will surpass the national pass-rate of 33,19 percent. Notably, one learner from St Faith’s High achieved an outstanding 19As, the highest in the province,” said Mr Gabaza.
