Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education Minister John Phiri has noted the serious strides the Examination Council of Zambia (ECZ) has made in cleaning up the entire examinations process.
Speaking when he officially opened the ECZ service centre in Lusaka today, Dr. Phiri says the cleanup is evidenced by the recently introduced and leakage free examinations and non availability of any authentic leakages so far during the 2014 joint school certificate and GCE examinations which even led to recent riots on the Copperbelt over fake leakages.
Dr. Phiri says the council has also moved to improve the conditions for the setters and makers of examinations which have attracted some of the makers and setters who had given up due to poor conditions to come back on the setting and marking panels.
He adds ECZ has in the past 22 months steadily moved to further enhance its image and the image of the ministry of education by adopting ICTs to improve the services the council provides to the general public such as the timely processing and release of grade 7 and grade 12 results.
Dr. Phiri stresses that the construction of the ECZ service centre is an honor to the government, stating that government is proud that ECZ constructed the centre without direct government funding but through innovation and creation of partnerships with various stakeholders.
He has further urged the members of staff that will be working from the centre to provide good service to the clients stating that the ministry will not tolerate mediocrity in the way service is provided to members of the public.
And speaking earlier, ECZ Council Chairperson Professor Samuel Banda says the council is repositioning itself to becoming more responsive in the way it conducts its business by going beyond setting and producing examination results and awarding certificates, to providing feedback information to the education system in order to enhance the learning achievement levels.
Professor Banda has further pledged continued committed service to ensure that the council’s mandate is fulfilled and brings about meaningful contributions towards the revitalizing of an effective and sustainable system of educational assessments and examinations.