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Maneb shifts primary school exams

Malawi National Examinations Board (Maneb) has shifted dates of this year’s Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education (PSLCE) examinations due to the fresh presidential election scheduled for May 19.

Briefing the media in Blantyre yesterday, Maneb executive director Gerald Chiunda said the examinations will be administered from May 6 to 8 and not May 20 to 22 as initially planned.

Chiunda: A hard decision
had to be made

The development follows the passing of the Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Act (PPEA) Amendment Bill in Parliament on Monday that set May 19 2020 as the date for a fresh presidential election as ordered by the Constitutional Court.

In an interview later, Chiunda said Maneb has already engaged the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology on the issue and that they will be delivering revised timetables to schools within two weeks.

He said: “The change in dates is neither desirable nor deliberate, but a hard decision had to be made after considering that most polling stations are in primary schools and that Maneb engages teachers in the administering of examinations. But in a separate telephone interview, education activist Steve Sharra said it would have been ideal of the examinations body to postpone rather than bring the examination date forward.

He said: “It is surprising that the examinations have been brought forward. This may affect the candidate’s preparation.”

But during the press briefing, Chiunda said Maneb is hopeful that candidates and schools will adjust their preparations in line with the new dates.

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