Malawi National Examinations Board (Maneb) has announced that the cancelled 2020 Malawi School Certificate of Educa t i on (MSCE) examinations will be re-administered from January 5 to 29 2021.
In a statement released yesterday signed by Maneb acting executive secretary Dorothy Nampota, the examination body said all process to re-administer the examinations were progressing well..
Maneb said security for the examinations will be provided by both Malawi Defence Force (MDF) and Malawi Police Service.
Reads the statement in part: “The timetable has been drawn and delivery of the timetable to district education managers [DEM] offices has commenced today [yesterday] and will be completed in four days time.
“Secondary school heads are, therefore, advised to collect copies of the timetable from their respective DEMs offices.”
The statement also said that the list of items for science practical examinations will be dispatched together with the timetables, adding that no school should demand fees for practical exams from candidates.
The MSCE examinations will be re-administered following a decision by the Ministry of Education and Maneb to cancel the exams on November 4 2020 due to a massive leakage of some examination papers.
In a November 22 2020 statement, Ministry of Education Principal Secretary Chikondano Mussa indicated that no school, private or public, should demand practical examinations fees from candidates as all the fees will be shouldered by government.
Mussa’s statement also said candidates should report back to their respective schools on December 28 to prepare for the examinations.
On the other hand, Maneb’s latest statement indicates that names of teachers to administer the MSCE examinations are ready and that the examinations body will soon be orienting them on the processes.
The statement further says the deadline for submission of identity card (ID) queries is December 15 2020.
In aninterview yesterday, education expert Steve Sharra said knowing the exact dates of the examinations brings a sense
of relief to both students and teachers as it helps them strategise in terms of how to plan, study and prepare.
He said: “The statement from the acting executive secretary is reassuring. We all want the rerun of the MSCE to succeed and to have the integrity and credibility that a national examination requires.”
In a separate telephone interview yesterday, Civil Society Education Coalition executive director Benedicto Kondowe also said it is good that the most-anticipated calendar of the examinations has been released.
“It is a planning tool for both the candidates and teachers. But that said, Maneb and Ministry of Education must ensure requisite security protocols are complied with,” he said while applauding the inclusion of MDF.
Following the leakage of the examinations and subsequent cancel lat ion , Pr e s ident Lazarus Chakwera called for the replacement of Maneb management and further directed the Ministry of Education to launch an investigation into the matter and ordered that a report be submitted to him within a week.
Two weeks later, Maneb board sent executive secretary Gerald Chiunda on suspension over the leakage.
Initially, candidates were supposed to sit for the examinations in June this year before schools were closed on March 20 due to the Covid-19 pandemic
