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Govt has abolished cut off point system for grade 9 exams

By editor
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Government has abolished the cut off-point system to select grade nine pupils to grade ten and replaced it with a full school certification as a criterion to qualify to grade ten.

A total of 110,798 pupils obtained full grade certificates in last year’s examinations and have consequently qualified to grade ten.

Minister of Education, Geoffrey Lungwangwa disclosed this in a ministerial statement to parliament today.

He said all the candidates who obtained full certificates during their grade nine examinations have since qualified to grade ten.

He said the decision to select candidates based on their full certificate was aimed at allowing more pupils proceed to grade ten.

Prof. Lungwangwa said out of 254 032 candidates, who entered for the examination last year, 228 107 candidates sat for the examination, of which 110,798 candidates obtained full certificates and consequently qualified to grade ten.

He said 46,001 candidates who obtained full certificates were girls while 64,797 are boys.

Professor Lungwangwa further disclosed that 196 candidates with special needs entered the examinations, out of which 118 candidates were selected to grade ten after obtaining full certificates.

He said only 56 cases of malpractice were recorded last year and attributed the low figures to the strict supervision by both teachers and Examination Council of Zambia (ECZ) officials during examinations.

He said grade ten classes will start next week Monday, the 16th of February 2009, with a two weeks grace period.

Prof. Lungwangwa said all pupils who will not report for class by the 27th of February will lose their school places.

Meanwhile, Professor Lungwangwa has disclosed that government has put in place a committee that will look into the issue of extending free education policy to grade 12.

He said the committee is working tirelessly to ensure this was implemented soon in order to increase the number of pupils completing grade 12 education.

He said this in response to a complimentary question raised by Chongwe Member of Parliament, Sylvia Masebo who wanted to know if government has plans to extend free education to grade 12.

ZANIS/GP/KSH/ENDS.

editor
editorhttp://www.lusakatimes.com

249 COMMENTS

  7. this is a very dumb decision by the government. Cut off point was a way of filtering. just like it was on grade seven. they will now end up producing half baked graduates

  9. Yea, our Goverment has opene doors for more failures to excel Besides leakages in exams. No wonder we have un baked people in big positions. Its not new anyway!

  10. That is good,the thing was very discriminatory nomba takuli ati uyu chikopo coz all are intelligent in one way or another

  11. This will encourage laziness imwe, we need quality students to cross over to grade 10, now everyone will just be working for a mare 40%

  12. These pupils performance will really go down and am sure theres also going to be congestion in some mostly prefered schools.they just have to study and rech the cut off point.ubunagani.ba lungwangwa whats happening?

  13. Lets wait and see.Which high schools will absorb all those? i think government schools will be turned int rallies(more than 100pupils per class)

  16. Baby c, do you have a sister? I would love to marry in your family. I wanted you but some guys here can kill me.what do you think? 😡

  18. good move,its progressive.b4 u oppose,look at the statistics above,only 50% of the pupils made full certificates implying dull ones will still be left out.
    as for free educ upto g12,that is long overdue.our friends uganda are already doing so,good news indeed.

  19. i think it can make more sense to do that at grade 7 level and not at grade 9.sheeps need to be separated from goats.pupils will now become lazy.u r now diluting the education system in zambia.

  20. Well done Education Ministry!!Progression to next level is essential for all school going children.
    Currently in the UK,from whom we model our Education system,there are SATS exams at different levels and failing in one Key stage will still ensure that you move on upwards till you have choice of further Education like Plumbing,Physichiatry etc.
    Meantime,extend the admission period as most parents can not find money to raise for their School going children.

  21. Buti Zo-ona ba Govt ehh! There will be no motivation in G9 now! Next its full certificate to do a B.ENG or BSC. No need to get 6 or 7 points. Imean already people with these pts cant afford the two Universities, only rich kids with full certificates will be able to afford! :-w

  25. Motaim

    You are naughty!!! i once sat in group three when i was in grade one and mum was upset!!! She went like…hope am not raising a kaponya

  26. Cut-off points encouraged hard work among pupils. Now it will be free for all. Where are we going in Zambia? Next time we will hear ati no sleeping with your wife, just sleep with any woman.

  27. This is fantastic news. Every child has a right to education at least up to Grade 12. The country needs every citizen to have basic education if the country is to develop at a faster pace. Education for All 2015 should be a reality.
    Congratulations :d

    1

  28. #25. You have made me laugh. Its like what all the elders, ati nalepasa fye number 1 lyonse nomba support nshakwete ebuno ubuchushi. So who were passing number 2 or number last?

  29. It is sad,personally i feel this move will compromise and lower the standard of education in this country and particularly government school .Government should not run away from pertinent issue required to improve the nose diving education standards : teacher -pupil ratio,provision of desks and other important learning materials,building more schools,paying teachers well and above all , the President,MPs and other senior government official should never send their children to private schools.

  32. Where are they going to accommodate the extra chaps who should have failed the G9 exams. There’re very few grade 10 to 12 classes. :-w

  37. i think this will also discourage leakages in a way,so its a gud move and u never know mayb some might not hav done as well as they wished due to unforsin sacumstances 🙂

  38. kK sent almost all children to government schools, we usually hear our fathers saying, we were in the same class with Panji at kamwala or Chelstone primary.

  39. 34. Kote Kanama

    here is the solution!!

    1. please do not type jama co in one word (It will not post) :d

    2. No references to other sites w w w (in one word) :)>-

  44. Good move. this will balance emotional intelligence and intellectual intelligence. i used to be number one from grade one to 12 but my so called intellegence has failed me. all those who used to copy from me are doing a lot better than me.

  50. As if allowing these kids to use calculators in exams is not much now this!

    Lungwa whatever you call yourself are you a serious man, looks like a G9 drop out yourself

  53. I know why this has been introduced, because most of the chaps for the well to do are vikopo so they want to assist them. Very backward way of thinking. I remember at one point when they had introduced a system of publishing grade twelve results in the press, a lot of bana ba bachikulile failed but surpringly, they were at UNZA how?

  54. Baby c you are a man, “hope am not raising a kaponya”

    Anyway, this is a good move, to enable my neibour’s children attain Secondary School Education. One of them has since failed grade nine four times. Ki hande!

  56. Ubukopo bwayamba.Cut off system was motivating the pupils to work extra hard.Now our children will relax knowing that its easy infact very easy to obtain a certicate that reaching the cut off point.This will encourage laziness and performance will not be as expected.

  57. Good move. VIVA education for all. Abash intellectual discrimination. afterall the so called dull ones will end up being ministers. so they might as well go up to grade 12

  58. Good move. VIVA education for all. Abash intellectual discrimination. afterall the so called dull ones will end up being ministers. so they might as well go up to grade 12.

  60. this issue is a dilemae,its a not good coz there will be laziness,again its good coz a lot of people will recieve education,reducing street vending and bukawalala including ma hule.the country will never develop if u just select a number of pupils and u leave some pa zuba,were do u think they will be doing,street vending,u hule,thugs etc.its a gud move tho!!!

  63. Simple maths. 110,000 pupils assume 40 per classroom = c. 2750 classes. If each secondary can accommodate 8 classes at each grade = >340 secondary schools. Q: do we have these many schools in zed right now? We’ll end up having >50 pupils per classroom, even close to 100, which by all accounts is a recipe for disaster!

  64. I dnt get any sense in this whole thing.So U mean all those who have certificates will have to go to Hillcrest,DK,and so on? Elo congestion muma classes bwa,it will be kafwafwa n there will be no concentration at all at all. <:-p<:-p

  66. It has been an unfair ride, just imagine competing with chaps who have photographic memories eh. What is important is the aplication of the information contained. Bazungu know these things.

  68. #60,those pipo who do prostitution its not that they fail to pass,NO!!many of them find themselves doing that because they dnt have money to take them to skool.so this will not solve anything of that kind.the best is to introduce free education up2 grade 12.

  73. Miss Daisy

    Nambala last kupasa mama! atleast my name was mentioned and my brother was so proud of me!

    #54 SN

    Dont worry about that term, when i was a little girl, i used to look like a handsome boy. I have now grown into a beautiful young woman

    :d!

  75. Hello Everyon!

    Chizongwe(chizzy Metals)wont allow this trash!
    And secondly, while its a good move of increasing literacy,what has the govt put in place to contain the soaring numbers coz thetr are few secondary schools? before doing this the govt should have builst more sec skools and then employ all teh currently unempoloyed teachers and train more of them in order to maitain or improve the quality of education.Yes it can be done,Kikwete of Tanzania built 1 500 new secondary schools within the first two years of his presidency.Its there for everyone to see.Thats what call progress and not just lip-service.

  76. this is all wat this current govt can do of all things….they are now taking us backwards.lets wait and see for more blunders from this govt.

  77. There is one chap who is actually nuts up stairs but can remember every single book and thing he has seen! Now us Zambians ati he is clever yaba. This chap can tell you word by word what a whole range of books contain but he is nuts!

  78. I hope someone will listen and is copying your concerns to their

    computer. but who? Point by point! Worse for the teachers… They

    will only teach in the last term of 12th Grade! Drinking and

    Gossiping… Joyride!!!!

    Zambia! Zambia!!!

  79. ha! i hope my son wont read or hear about this. My God! i dont know how else i can prevent this from leaking otherwise umwana chapwa, aza leka ku belenga. yo!

  80. Hi all!!

    This is wrong. You cant have kids waltzing through to grade twelve on a silver plate. Children should understand that they need to work hard to make it in life. Anyway, am unperturbed by this issue! 😕

  81. #44
    Taumfwa,anyway it happens, i have a cousin who used to be Nambala 1 all the way and is still intellifent but look at his friends;all doing well,for him a metal fabricator not because he failed but opportunities for him to be an engineer were not there.He is a bitter man in life.

  83. Yes, i know you are all wondering about the flag. Dont worry, its me. Am in the field using another laptop.

    Baby C
    Shani mani!

    Jam@co
    Are you unpert..,shani uko! :-\”

  86. pupils with full certificate always found places in g10, the minister is just compromising the quality of education, the govt wantsto use this as a fulfiled promise on education for all, we shall wait and watch.

  87. These things work themselves out. The innovative will still excel. It is better to fill the streets with school leavers than Kaponyas.

  88. This will offers an opportunity for poor students to forge ahead with their education because rich people always do it with money. Situations and conditions that most poor students leave in is the utmost reason for their poor performances in school **==

  90. number 68 i agree with u yes,they need to introduce free education upto G12,but again i saw people comming from stable families moving around,smoking chamba turning into thugs,some girls ended up being pregnant.coz they cudnt make it to G12,they got tired of repeating.but walasa free edu ifunika!!!

  92. #81 Sharp Shooter :)>-

    Shani boyi! Sorry about your bululu! This system will make things worse. Ifikopo nomba fyalafula pa Zed.

    3RqU:)>-

    Morning mwana!!

  96. Baby C

    Its me. don’t worry. Did you manage to sit in class with that flyless teacher of yours? :))

    Jam@co

    Whats the matter? Ninani uwalenga?:-?

  97. Communication is vital for success and as long as others are lagging behind in this area, we will continue to have this poverty. The freedom of the mind is far much breater than the tugs that people pride themselves in i.e certificates, diplomas, Degrees, PhdS, AND WHATEVER ELSE.

  98. this is a jackpot for me. are salaries are so so bad, such i have been teaching by remote control. i leave an excercise book of notes with the class captain and i go to South Africa for 3 days or a week. when i come back, i just go through the notes and ask one or two questions and off to another topic til my next trip. such now i wont have to worry about revising with the pupils kabili on the average almost all pupils are able to get full certificates. this will give me even more chance and time to do my cross boarder trading. what else with the Gvt always denying us increaments. how do i survive? Thank you ba Minister.

  104. Ba Moze
    Muli che mudala? Iam good.Nenze nayopa ka flag thinking its another imposter.Mudala,this life can be cruel sometimes but on average its fair.

  107. hey LT blogers.help me,any lady to voluntarily be with me on valentines day ONLY from 9hrs to 18hrs….thereafter we can part company.

  112. The reason why pupils ‘fail’ in Grades 7 and 9 in Zambia is not because they are dull. It is because of limited school places. If it were a question of intelligence we would have had a national ‘cut-off point system’. But the cut-off differs from province to province because it is dependent on the availability of school places. For example Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces always have low cut-off points compared to Eastern and Western Provinces because the former have more schools per head . General Education i.e kindergarten to grade 12 is compulsory in all civilsed countries and it should be in Zambia with the building of more schools.

  114. Infact I would go as far as suggesting that Government privatise all grz run schools including Universities! Let grz simply set the guidelines and expectations!

  115. #111 Anonymous

    😮 Very sorry mudala! Wont happen again.

    Your comment on things having a way of solving themselves…Are you sure this system can work?:-?

  116. #108

    Its true they will scrap them on the grounds that its a drain on resources and its insignificant.Infact the ECZ board has already given a go-ahead and anytime it will be effected probably thru a mininsterial statement.

  117. Ba Moze am ok n am not upset wth u anymore. But jus one :@) i call my ……..provoked me last nyt.Otherwise am fine.Wen i say u r in Mazabuka u will say kalubuli so ine ni |-)|-)|-)

  119. Good move ..hoe it will be extended to colleges, universities so that all pass with distinctions. We are all intellegent pa Zed. Ukubelenga kwanshi…girls and boys just dtudy enough to get the certificate.

  120. Good move ..hoe it will be extended to colleges, universities so that all pass with distinctions. We are all intellegent pa Zed. Ukubelenga kwanshi…girls and boys just dtudy enough to get the certificate.

  122. I’m not of the idea to abolish cut off point system as it is in itself a poor and unplanned move to the quality education that this country need. This means that all the residue will be taken to grade ten who in turn will be empty school leavers in the year 2011, shame! Our leaders must learn to analys isues, after all your childrens are in beeter schools now you want to spoil poor Zambian’s childrens NO..NO….NO…NO CHECK THIS OUT!!!!!!!!!!

  123. I’m not of the idea to abolish cut off point system as it is in itself a poor and unplanned move to the quality education that this country need. This means that all the residue will be taken to grade ten who in turn will be empty school leavers in the year 2011, shame! Our leaders must learn to analys isues, after all your childrens are in beeter schools now you want to spoil poor Zambian’s children NO..NO….NO…NO CHECK THIS OUT!!!!!!!!!!

  125. Mediocre students will not be encouraged to work harder so as to become the premier of their classes.The spirit of hard work is being trumpled upon by retrogressive policy makers.Goats should be separated from sheep only then will our nation forge ahead on its path to economic development.What happened to emphasis on quality and not quantity!

  126. Kwikuta Kwa Mpombu

    On a serious note, how do you suppose that the best are the ones who make the mark? I do not intend to raise an unnecessary storm.

  128. The poor students are ever losing out, and these are the people filling public rallies chanting Pabwato! I say let them have a chance to be literate.

    Untill the individual family begins to value the importance of ‘real Education’, prosperity remains a pipe dream. Sounds likea contradiction I bet.

  129. BABY C AND BA MOZE..
    OK..so i haver been out too long thatb now we have mrs Rashid Jones ok…you guys need to update me on alot of things ha! 8-}

  130. Infact, our education system needs an overhaul. its too bookish and examination oriented. we just read or worse still memorise to pass examinations. that explains why few people do well in subjects that require thinking eg maths, science etc

  132. Most primary schools have been upgraded to basic schools (grade 1 to 9) and secondary schools have been upgraded to high schools (grade 10 to 12). Govt embarked on this initiative a couple of years ago so as to ensure that more children had a chance to get a basic education and now extend to ensure that even more can attain full secondary school education. It does not compromise standards because to get into the best schools you will still need to have attained that schools minimum entry level marks. Better still the marking standards will just be more stringent to ensure that the number that get the full certificate correspondes with the number of places available in grade 10 country wide.

  133. 3RqU how you today?

    Ba Moze, manje flag?? When you change town the flag also changes??

    Anonymous….how you, am sure 3RqU is okay

  136. G Baby theres kafwafwa on LT ama Mrs,manifestos,provocations name them they are on LT.Naine i will be Mrs :-j:-j:o):o):o)<:-p<:-p

  140. This is great news indeed,this is how the system should have been & should be extended to the grade 12 set up,this will give hope to many who lose interest in school & drop out when they fail to reach the thresholds,at least we won’t have too many illiterates now,it’s better to keep fighting & at least attain a certificate which is essential,at least one can enrol at a private college with a certificate even international colleges & universities don’t look at the ”cut off point” but individual units.

  141. Next Basic Schools will run from grade eight (8) to (12)twelve.Believe me we are going to have a ten classroom University in the near future.Indeed this is totally a worst aproach this govt. can come up with.
    By the way the system of each minister doing his own is from where? This shows weakness in leadership………

  142. Very rarely will you see a kaponya enter a Bank, why? Let anyone willing to learn to read and write access that opportunity.

    You cant force a horse to drink water but as many as are willing to learn let them in.

  143. I just hope the government build more schools to accomodate the rise in grade ten classes and also build more colleges, i think for now we have more credible universities which can cater for a few creme de creme of high school graduates.

  144. G baby
    As Zoe put it, pali kafwafwa pano! Dont worry, i will do some lip-sing here and there!

    Zoe and G baby naifwe we should be ba Mrs fimofimo mwee, what do you think?

  145. contd from 132. So the quality of the certifcate one gets will still set them apart. For instance under the old system on those with the best grades would be admitted to David Kaunda or Hillcrest. So no standard have been compromised. Under this new system we will end up with educated massess (ho have atleast gone up to grade 12) and hopefully make more informed decisions, and vote wisely instead of having few intelligent and educated people who still cant influence the path country takes because they are too few to even impact an election outcome. It is a good move!

  146. Greetings in the name of H.I.M and Empress Menen.

    I&I see babylon comments pon the aspect and mi say to I&I, What wicked boombaklat is this?.
    Teach Rastafari in your religious education and you will have a better world.I&I bun all form of competition except in da classroom.Minister fi the education is misleading the nation with his useless manipulation of policies.Mi nah friend him.

  147. #141 good question

    Does RB approve of this nonsense?.Never mind.Whatever the answer the guy still remains a disoriented president.

  148. MWENYA, I SEE YOUR POINT OF VIEW AND THIS COULD BE GOOD.

    Anonymous, thanks, am okay, just looking forward to spending Valentines day alone..lol….Too pretty, cant find a man !

    Jam@co, its okay to feel like that, thats what makes us human but dont forget to look to the hills where ALL our help comes from.

  149. i agree with no 145. Its a step in the right directions. Actually exams have never been the best assessment for intelligency. some are slow learners and just require time to catch up. Moreover, this will reduce on cheating or so called leakages. government should just work on building more schools!

  151. This is better than the arbitrary cut off point system that varied from district to district and was abused by schools to deny students who had otherwise passed in all subjects and obtained a full Certificate from continuing their education. The Full certification method cuts of the genuine failures (those having not passed in all subject) from the ones who passed but were overlooked because of a points system. Bravo GRZ, at least we have some thinking happening somewhere!

  152. My humble suggestion: There should be lower cut off point for government schools and a very high one for private schools. how do u explain these bembass getting five points when they cant even utter an English word and the write like they in Grade 2

  154. We ae moving from the oeld way of thinking (Education as a priviledge) to the correct way of thinking – Education is a right.
    The cut off point system was cutting off students who had otherwise obtained passes in all subjects and denying them their rights. Those who fail to obtain a certificate by failing to pass in all subjects will still be cut off but at least it will be recognised as a genuine failure to pass and not just as a victim of some system designed to limit the number of educated.

  159. Lady Chiza all shud be equal the certificate thing dnt even make any sense at all. So bonse wth certificates ni kaufela Hillcrest and D.K. Prof Lungwangwa on this one u thot like the undereducate.. =;=;=; for 2011

  160. *Shaking my head* with attitudes like this it would not surprise me if the number people living on less than 1 dollar a day were halved it would be seen as a bad thing by some(we have to separate the sheeps from the goats, poor people must be there to make me feel better…small mindedness)

    o you people want to progress or not? Do you want to keep scores of illiterates on our streets or not? lets embrace this move as a step in the right direction.

  161. Miss daisy

    never mind Chiza and his long legs, he is a depressed old man looking for love and attention! can you be his Valentine???@};- he will be over the moon.

  163. Anonymous 160 – this is what happens when people are trapped poverty mindset. When they see a good thing, when they see progress, they can’t recognise it for what it is. Nowhere in the developed world does such a retrogressive system such as the cut off points system exist, only in zambia did we exclude students who had passed from continuing their education, but some how we were unique and we had got it right? The Evidence on the street indicates otherwise really.

  164. This is great news from the President RB Banda Admnistration. However, since the number of pupils entering Grade 10 schools will be much larger than before due to this move, when are we having new schools built to accomodate all pupils who will be proceeding to Grade 10 in this manner.
    Also, I would like to read a similar move for the Grade 7 exams case. This will means more schools and teachers in terms of numbers. Thus more jobs in construction of infranstructure and also teaching. Jo creation and education for all is now at stake and hats off to the MMD GRZ.With this development, I hope the PF/Sata leader Mr Undereducate M. C. Sata will take this opportunity serious to improve his case.

  166. 164 continued.
    On “Meanwhile, Professor Lungwangwa has disclosed that government has put in place a committee that will look into the issue of extending free education policy to grade 12”, this MUST be an encouraging item to the current PF/Sata political party Leader, all Zambian people who do not have this education level and all children of school going age to make it to Grade 12 and have that grade’s certification.

    All the best to you all as you blog and also endeavour to do beeter educationally in your lives.

  168. Maestro has raised a valid point. While we commend the governemnt for this step they have taken, can capacity be increased accordingly. We need construction of more schools and Universities – In the uk there is a university in almost every other town. We still have a long way to go in improving access to education but this is a bold and bright step in the right irection.

  170. #158, Anonymous, please let me hear it….very interested!

    #161, Thought Chiza Legs fimo fimo was a woman ……anyways..nshilefwaya abakote… ,@};-

  171. I agree with #36. where are the schools, right now the schools we have only accomodate the cut off point qualifiers, now where are the mere full certificated qualifiers going to go, Basic school again??? Was happy when I heard this on news now am not sure someone help answer my questions

  172. The ideal of cut -off point was to allow a limited number because of fewer secondary schools than basic schools .Nishi banamangilako maSukulu?.You will see a situation of 120 pupils in a class.
    That is the total number of students in my school,we have a lot of space for ourselves. :o:o:o:o:o

  173. Then the responsibility lies on govt to increase capacity. Why should someone thathas passed be denied their righ because of a lack of capacity? he same cut off point was different in different districts where they had more schols it was madness.

    The problem was not the failure of the pupils but the failure of govt to provide capacity. The pupils should not have been punished and should not be punished because of a lack of capacity.

  174. I think it’s a very good idea. Everyone has the right to Education. It’s better that people should reach at least grade 12 in Zambia. But,those who re dull will still be filtered at university level. Let the dull pupils be given a chance also to reach grade 12.
    We re investing in our Education system.

  177. #175, Ba Lady Chiza iyo ni zenophobia mwa amba, elyo if you can understand this then perhaps you dont hate but envy us?? Come on, we better than that in Zambia, arent you even ashamed to make such a primitive statement sure??:-?

  179. guys how does one get the online subscription to the POST to work? the 2CO icon always appears inactuive on my screen any help i would really appreciate.

  181. We obviously need to build more schools if this MMD move to take in all full school certificate holders into G9 is to work but where will the money come from? Kikwete Built 1 700 schools because George Bush gave TZ 700 million dollars when he visited that country in appreciation for good democratic principles and good governance. But with our bad record of election rigging, corruption, pro Bejing behavior and you name all the chaos in Zambia, no American president can come to that country and dish out that kind of help. Zambia can only attract the poor Chinese Premier who has so many problems in his own country that he cannot even afford to give such kind of money. Too bad for my country!

  183. This is not development in any way. We had to struggle to get good results to be allowed to form 4 then, those with no full cerificates out. Now this new law is just madness. whats the point of even encouraging the boys and girls to work hard when they know that with just a full certificate ninshi wapassa mdala. Cut off point is the best. We are in retrogression pa ZED. The system is used is Botswana, where there is no failing at any stage. Ask those who have been there, and see the results. bwafya.

  184. Daisy my fellow lady.Why dont we women support each other. anyway, we women are divided in the middle that is why even during the 2008 erections, men were always on top of us.

  186. Miss daisy

    Never mind him!Lady Chiza loves bemba women so much but they keep dissing him because of his long legs and ugly face. only tonga women can accept him =))=))=))

  188. The so called cut-off point was introduced because of insufficient grade eight and ten school places. This disadvantaged some students who had passed exams as they could not continue with their education. Now that the number of grade ten places have increased, I do not see why this system should continue. I know this very well because I was a secondary school in Zambia in the 1980s and part of 1990s. Now, I am a university professsor in the USA.

  189. Lady Chizas Legs u r frustrated man in yo life,if u r not one of those whose inda business of burning CDs in a cafe then i dnt know.U r so dirty minded :@)let

  191. This a great move from government. A lot of pupils were not progressing because of the so called cut off points, which were detrimental to the nation’s progress. The more people finish grade 12 education, the higher our literacy levels will be and we shall have more skilled adn educated people doing trades. This is the way to go if we are to develop. Look at the “ifikopo” in the UK or US, they are still finish high school and are absorbed into the labour market. Well done GRZ!!!!

  193. yebo much better, some people are not academically gifted but if government can facilitate for them to have a GCSE,then as human being i am encouraged

  195. yebo much better, some people are not academically gifted but if government can facilitate for them to have a GCSE,then as human being i am encouraged

  196. Zed will have a lot of un barked graduates at least the exams used to separate the chuff from the real graduates to be, the idea of basic education for all is good but make everyone to reach grade 12 will not help. Stardands should have been mantained from grade 10 upwards. Even now cos of leakages at grade 12 universities are experiencing high failure rates just in first year, Now I dont’ know how universities will handle this chuff.

  198. In addition to what I have indicated above, this MMD GRZ move has a potential to reduce the affinity for leakage by our young ones and even elderly people who will be going to write exams.

    What remains now is to hear how many pupils will be mentored by one teacher at a time. In my case while at secondary school, I remember that we were only 39 pupils in my class from Grade 10 to 12. It was a really great learning environment where a few other pupils and I managed to teach atleast everyone in my class how to play the game of Chess by the time we finished Grade 12.

    So, let the GRZ do a good job to ensure that 40 – 45 students learn in one class at a time from one teacher.

  199. On what basis are some given “full certificates” and others no? I thought cut off point means the the minimum notes one must node so as to qualify? They have just changed the name and the cut off point will continue to be used…otherwise all would qualify to G10!!!

  206. Chilady chiza walachimona lelo. I am back now …dont play with bembas. I dont know you guys why you hate bembas. bemba girls please push aside such dull creatures. :)>-:)>-:)>-:)>-:)>-

  207. #145 That is the spirit you cant have a nation where three quarters of the masses do not read and write.That is why we continue voting for politicians just because they bought us a chitenge or a packet of shake shake at the expense of policies and real issues.Besides not every student who has had 6 points has made it in life Ask Bill Gates or indeed closer home, one Jacob Zuma! :)>-:)>-:)>-:)>-

  208. Guys you know what? The whole idea is okay! The former system was so unfair in most cases. All they should do now is to work on the criteria of what a certificate should mean. A pass, by 40% doesn’t not hold water at all! Students are expected to know more than what they don’t know… Therefore the passing mark should go above 50% l-)

  209. Anonymous and Kabongolo. You spend time wanting to know what is in my pants. shame. hope yo children wont be like you fags

  212. Bloggers

    Lady Chiza and Hule same person! we are too smart to be tricked! Hule wakantu iwe! No wonder you drink like the devil himself

  213. this is a good move as more zambians will be educated at the end of the day.many pipo fail grade nine not because they re dul,but because of financial and economic problems.we need more literate zambians so i see no problem with this decision

  214. ba GRZ(gabbage of the republic of zambia),tell us,when re you going to give us our allowances here in russia?twachula pafula.yo dull children cant make it to grade ten,so wat?insansa ku chinjana,give us our money or zambia is going to the dogs.

  215. The teacher will spend time teaching those pupils who are behind at the expense of the brighter ones.It will also reduce competition between the cream and milk.

  217. 199. Kizito greetings. There has always been a difference in the cut-off point issue and the obtaining of a Grade 9 Certificate or even the Grade 7 certificate, I think.
    Cut-off point in my time must have been 395 to Grade 10 in Southern Province while any one who scored 50% the English Language as compulsory pass and 5 other subjects would receive a Grade 9 Certificate which implies that his/her total score was 300 (6 multiplied by 6 subjects).
    Cut-off points for other Provinces including Copperbelt have always been lower if I remember correctly to those of the Sothern Province.
    A similar thing happened for Grade 8 entry where one needed to pass English Language with the remaining.

  218. 217. continued.
    If I remember correctly, 5 Grade 7 subjects (English and Zambian language e.g. Tonga, Social Studies and Mathematics) who give a pupil a minimum of some number and then marks from Special paper 1 and 2 would then bring the subjects to 7. I must admit that I have never taken interest in the marking criteria or he actual numbers but a pupil had to pass English to get a Certificate as this was/is-still compulsory.
    All I remember is that the cutting point was about 650 for the mighty Sotuhern Province in my time.
    Many pupils who failed to get to the cut-off point, but had Grade 7 Certificates used to go to some Secondary Schools looking for available G.8 spaces and some got.

  220. Free Education yes, but let the cut of point be concrete.
    Why should it be abolished? I see no reason yet.

    Let the prof. elaborate further more.

  221. All these measures are artificial. Equip schools with learning aids; computers, laboratory equipment, restock libraries with books, pay teachers well. That will boost the morale of both students and teachers. What good does it do to walk in class with no books, no windows and teachers eager to get off to go and fend for their families?

  222. All the children are lovely. Is it just me who notices that there is something very wrong eith the colour of these childrens eyes?

  223. :(( owee thiz guys are thinking of their dull grand kids:(|)take care of the future by encouraging pipo to work harder not jus hard.[-x

  224. Since when is going to grade 10 such an achievement?! Let everyone stroll there if they want and save all the energy on discussing real issues!

  225. I’m a product of the cut off system, it made us work hard and pass. maybe Lungwangwa has seen it fit since there is leakage everywhere, no need to have cut off. You project what you want to get by the amount of leakage you get. Shame… In our time what you got at Grade 12 mock exama was somehow similar with the expected final results, the teaching was excellent the exams tight proof no leakage. Atase, this MMD is now getting confused.

  227. 225. your flag Mpangula Mputyu greetings and impressive on “In our time what you got at Grade 12 mock exama was somehow similar with the expected final results, the teaching was excellent the exams tight proof no leakage.”

    The only difference to your comment is that in my time, “what you got at Grade 12 mock exam[s] was somehow similar with the expected final results, the teaching was excellent the exams [were not] tight proof no leakage” as I socred 11 points in my Grade 12 exams and then 10 points on the ECZ final examw which saw me enter the School of Natural Sciences at UNZA and all the way through to where I am today.

    However,I feel this is a serious achievement by the 17 yr MMD GRZ.

  228. I think this is one of the dubmest ideas GRZ has come up with this year!! No cut off point? Yashani kabili? So, you don’t have to work hard, you just need to show to class? Already our education standards are low and we are bringing them lower? I know every child has the right to an education, but if that child has got an empty head, those certificates won’t mean a thing!!
    Grade nine certificate has just lost all the value it had, if any!!!

  229. When I was a secondary school teacher in my country, Zambia, I saw good students left out of the system because of the cut-off point. Some students failed to meet it not because of being lazy, but due to various factors circumstances beyond their control. I saw this as injustice on the part of the system. The country did not havce adequate school places to accommodate every student who had at least obtained a full certificate, that passing in at least subjects including English. Any student, given the right tool, will make it in education. Here in the U.S.A, there is no such a thing as cut-off point. Students are offered several opportunities in terms of tuition to realize their potential.

  230. Can anyone tell me the logic in sending 117,309 students who did not make it (according to the Zambia system) into the streets? What good does this do to the society and the Country? In the developed world USA, Canada and the rest of the developed world, kids learn from kindergarten to grade twelve without interruption. The Zambian system which has come to be accepted tells kids that they failed and can’t go on, while in essence we do not have extra space to put them in. I can assure you 90% of the kids who have been sent home as failures, because of substandard education system can compete just as well with kids in USA or Canada if not better.

  231. To assume that exam cut off points are always the way to raise standards is to simplify matters. Education standards are driven up by good teaching and availability of good resources. Just setting exams and failing students when you have not invested anything in them is not only wasteful but also an abuse of authority. During the Cambridge School Certificate era we saw Indian boys and girls perform much better than Zambians. This was because their parents paid for extra tuition while all what their Zambian conterparts had was what they got at school. Some Zambians did well despite this, but most did badly.

  232. Cont’d from 231. Decades later and we are still flogging the same dead horse. Exam results are getting better but the quality of the candidates is getting worse. Six points in the Cambridge School Certificate exams was a preserve of only the most able students. These days zambian school leavers have to sit an English exam before they are admitted to some British universities. This was never an issue in the seventies and early eighties.

  233. #230 I agree with you. We need to ensure that kids stay in school up to grade 12. It would still be possible to differentiate the more academic students from their vocational counterparts. We must also have an education system that encourages more than just academic subjects but also vocational ones. A gifted footballer is just as valuable to Zambia as a good physicist. The large army of African footballers who play in Europe contribute a lot to their countries’ economies.

  234. The biggest problem in Zambia is lack of imagination. Successive ministers of education have chosen to leave things as they have been for decades. We need clever initiatives to solve problems both in the schools and at the Universities. I am sorry to say that while Prof L is a probably a good academic, his job requires a good change manager.

  235. The only mistake that the govt has done is to make this decision on grade 9 students.
    The developed counrties do it at grade seven level. Wonder why we cant do the same.
    Abolish grade 7 exams, do mandatory exams in grade 9! :)>-**==

  237. Gosh! It now means more ifikopo will makeit. Like ici chi Dr Ba Maureen, they will make noise thinking they are also educated.

  238. Cut-off, cut-off fyakale. Give me an example of any country which has a good educational system and emplo the cut-off system. Every child should be given an opportunity of going up to grade 12. Those who are good will still stand out. Even in developed countries where children have opportunities of going up tp grade 12, it is not everyone who goes to university. Besides, there is a difference between someone who dropped off in grade 7 and somone wh went up to grade 12 but never went to college.

  242. I hope you all understand that school is just a basic requirement.I see nothing with this at grade nine.Before grade nine i don’t think there is quality education especially in gorvenment schools.Let those who obtain certificates cross over to grade ten.In my school days i just got a grade nine certicate and procceded to grade ten,at grade twelve i become one of the best performers in the country.Give a chance to the Kids

  243. We need the cut of system to encourage competition amongst our children. What will happen when going to university? Will it be 48 points as cut off assuming one gets 8’s in 6 subjects. We are diluting the whole system. We need competion Lungwangwa not this nonsense.

  244. We need the cut of system to encourage competition amongst our children. What will happen when going to university? Will it be 48 points as cut off assuming one gets 8’s in 6 subjects. We are diluting the whole system. We need competion Lungwangwa not this nonsense.
    😕

  245. #244 What encouragement is there in sending Kids in the street without acknowledging our bad educational system. If you bother to do some reserch were you are, they don’t throw kids in the streats after grade 7. Those us living abroard should not be thinking like people in the village. Kids in school are not suppose to be competing with one another that is old way of thinking, in developed world every kid is considered unique and are taken as they are without looking at the next kid. The other kid may be good in sport, the other in math, the othe in art, the other in music and so on.

  247. Woah this blog is fantastic i really like reading your posts. Stay up the great paintings! You understand, a lot of persons are searching around for this info, you could help them greatly.

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