ZIMBABWE wants Southern Africa on the same page and the same exam paper. Primary and Secondary Education Minister Torerayi Moyo is calling for a unified assessment system across SADC to tighten security, raise standards, and kill off exam leakages that have plagued the region for years.
Speaking at the Southern African Association for Educational Assessment (SAAEA) Research Forum in Bulawayo on Tuesday, hosted by ZIMSEC, Moyo said fragmented systems are part of the problem. His fix: common standards, shared benchmarks, and regional accountability.
“Assessment, indeed, is the mirror of learning it reflects the progress of our learners, the effectiveness of our teaching methodologies, and the relevance of our curricula,” Moyo told delegates.
Zimbabwe, like many SADC states, has battled high-profile exam leakages that damage credibility and force costly rewrites. Moyo argued that only “robust, credible, and transparent assessment systems” can restore trust and give governments real data.
“Robust assessment systems enable us to identify learning gaps, celebrate achievements, and inform evidence-based policy decisions,” he said. Without them, curriculum reform and learner tracking are guesswork.
The SAAEA forum focuses on benchmarking practices across member states. Moyo said hosting it in Bulawayo was “both timely and fitting” as the region rethinks how it tests its students.
The push isn’t just about stopping leaks. Moyo linked unified assessments to Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 2 and Vision 2030, which targets upper-middle-income status by 2030.
“In this context, robust, credible, and transparent assessment systems are indispensable, as they generate the data required to inform curriculum reforms, monitor learner achievement, and ensure accountability across the education sector.”
He argued that regional cooperation in education boosts more than grades it drives SADC integration, trade competitiveness, and shared prosperity. “When our qualifications mean the same thing in Harare, Lusaka, and Gaborone, our students and economies win.”
Moyo also showcased Zimbabwe’s Heritage-Based Curriculum as a model for the region. The approach roots learning in local identity, geography, and natural resources, pushing students to solve community problems with practical skills.
He said that model only works if assessments are strong enough to measure it. “We can’t teach heritage and test guesswork.”
No formal SADC-wide exam exists yet, and harmonising systems across 16 countries means tackling different languages, curricula, and capacity levels. But ZIMSEC’s forum put the idea on the table and Zimbabwe in the driver’s seat.
If adopted, a regional standard could mean shared question banks, joint invigilation protocols, and cross-border moderation to shut down leakage syndicates. It could also mean a ZIMSEC certificate carries the same weight from Cape to Kinshasa.
For now, it’s a vision. But after years of cancelled papers and midnight rewrites, SADC parents and students may be ready to buy in.high-profile exam leakages that damage credibility and force costly rewrites. Moyo argued that only “robust, credible, and transparent assessment systems” can restore trust and give governments real data.
“Robust assessment systems enable us to identify learning gaps, celebrate achievements, and inform evidence-based policy decisions,” he said. Without them, curriculum reform and learner tracking are guesswork.
The SAAEA forum focuses on benchmarking practices across member states. Moyo said hosting it in Bulawayo was “both timely and fitting” as the region rethinks how it tests its students.
The push is not just about stopping leaks. Moyo linked unified assessments to Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 2 and Vision 2030, which targets upper-middle-income status by 2030.
“In this context, robust, credible, and transparent assessment systems are indispensable, as they generate the data required to inform curriculum reforms, monitor learner achievement, and ensure accountability across the education sector.”
He argued that regional cooperation in education boosts more than grades — it drives SADC integration, trade competitiveness, and shared prosperity. “When our qualifications mean the same thing in Harare, Lusaka, and Gaborone, our students and economies win.
Moyo also showcased Zimbabwe’s Heritage-Based Curriculum as a model for the region. The approach roots learning in local identity, geography, and natural resources, pushing students to solve community problems with practical skills.
He said that model only works if assessments are strong enough to measure it. “We can’t teach heritage and test guesswork.”
No formal SADC-wide exam exists yet, and harmonising systems across 16 countries means tackling different languages, curricula, and capacity levels. But ZIMSEC’s forum put the idea on the table and Zimbabwe in the driver’s seat.
If adopted, a regional standard could mean shared question banks, joint invigilation protocols, and cross-border moderation to shut down leakage syndicates. It could also mean a ZIMSEC certificate carries the same weight from Cape to Kinshasa.
For now, it’s a vision. But after years of cancelled papers and midnight rewrites, SADC parents and students may be ready to buy in.
