120 000 Grade 8, 59 000 Grade 10 and 23 200 Grade 12 students To Sit Examinations in 2015

More than 59,000 Grade 10 students in 256 schools will sit for their weeklong School Certificate Examination (SCE) from next week, an official says.

Secretary for Education Dr Uke Kombra said: “We have reduced the national examined subjects from 12 to seven as of this year.

“The other subjects will still be assessed and results will be based on the internal assessment.”

He said the subjects examined are English, mathematics, social science, science, personal development and two optional subjects.

The examinations will be conducted from Oct 12 to 16.

Kombra said preparations for Grade 8, Grade 10 and Grade 12 examinations were well underway.

Grade 10 SEC papers are currently being dispatched to the provinces.

“All provincial education advisers and examination supervisors are urged to ensure that the examination papers are well secured before they are dispatched to the respective schools.

A total of 23,200 Grade 12 students from 146 secondary schools will be sitting for their Higher School Certificate Examinations (HSCE) from Oct 19-30.

“About 120,000 Grade 8 students from 2,663 schools will sit for the Certificate of Basic Education Examinations (COBE) from Nov 2-5.”

Kombra appealed to everyone to support fair conduct of exams and to report any malpractice to school administrations, provincial and national authorities or Police for appropriate action.

“There are strategies already in place to minimise and avoid cheating in schools.

Source: The National, Tuesday October 6th, 2015 || By SHEILA MALKEN

'The wheels of justice have turned, it must continue to turn.' Sam Koim (28/09/2015)

Our team was disbanded, we went to court.

Our officers were terminated, we went to court.

Our funding was withheld, and still is to this day.

Our lawyers were not paid, and still to this day.

In court, they legitimised their positioning on both sides of the bar table and singing the same tune.

We were denied at first, we made it through later.

Yet, instead of fighting the real issues, they still want us out.

We were branded rogue and corrupt; the Courts removed the tag on us and placed it on those who branded us. That the court did –on a number of occasions.

We have fought this, not only on the legal front, but, tyranny and arbitrariness, threats and intimidation, ostracism and pillory, scarcity and defunding.

We have seen lawyers and spin doctors’ alike taking the fight out of the court room and onto the streets, inviting us for a street fight. We disobliged.

Today, we are back in court to seek the Court’s intervention to remove the persona non gratia tag placed on our lawyers. It is beyond believe that in democratic country where the rule of law should be supreme, such is happening.

We wonder how long we will have to go through the quagmire of unending legal battles. They want this fight to have a natural death by stifling us and subjecting us to maintain battles on many fronts. Mind you, we would have relented if it was a personal one. Yes, we may not have the power to compete on these many fronts but the wishes and prayers of our common suffering people are with us. A fair and independent judiciary is the anchor of our hope. The Courts have, on many occasions, vindicated us of our stand for public interest.

The wheels of justice have turned, it must continue to turn.

Those who unjustly exert interference to the turning wheel do not escape judgement. We have and will continue to witness, as long as the wheels continue to turn.