Education experts together with students who sat for Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examinations this year have asked the Malawi National Examinations Board (MANEB) to release the results as soon as possible.
The development comes as the examination governing body is yet to release results for the previous MSCE exams while on the other hand registration of candidates who are expected to sit for this year’s exams will be closed on March 8, 2021.
This has brought fear amongst these ex-form four students who are baying for an immediate release of the results in order to see their performance and decide on whether to register for a repeat or not.
These students who flocked to MANEB’s Facebook page said failure to release the results will automatically mean that MANEB must extend further the deadline for registration of this year’s form candidate.
“We need MSCE results so that we can go back to school before it is too late,” wrote Timot Kayange on MANEB’s official Facebook page.
Reacting to the development, education expert Steve Sharra said it is not surprising that MANEB seem not to be organized claiming there have been too many disruptions to the education system in the past twelve months.
According to Shara, too many disruptions can shock the system.
He, however, added that it is important in such situations to ensure that students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds should not be victimized further.
“These are genuine concerns and MANEB should take them seriously. The MSCE exam is an extremely important milestone in the lives of young Malawians.” Said Sharra.
Benedicto Kondowe who is the Executive Director of Civil Society Education Coalition faulted MANEB for failure to comply with its calendar saying that there has never been a time when the board did what was on calendar.
Kondowe said officials at MANEB should always know that their delays when it comes to examination do not only affect students but also parents who have to plan for what to do with their children when results are out hence the need to be releasing every exam results in time.
“We have been talking of this issue now and now again but MANEB chooses not to listen to us but honestly the concerns are so genuine since the students have to make a decision upon seeing their previous performance,” added Kondowe.
The expert has also recommended that if MANEB knows that the exam results will further be delayed, it should then think of extending the deadline for registering candidates for the coming exams.
Meanwhile, MANEB is yet to comment on the matter.
Recently, Independent Schools Association of Malawi, (ISAMA) president, Joseph Patel, said they were hopeful that examinations will be out before April 8th, 2021, which is the deadline for registration fees.
