The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure
RESOURCED and technologically advanced boarding schools have exceeded expectations of academic achievements — with the majority — fronted by St David Bonda Girls’ High and St Faith’s High, smashing their way into Manicaland’s league of 30 that produced students with five As or better.
Provincial Education Director (PED) Manicaland Mr Edward Shumba said the quality of the 2016 results was much better than 2015.
Mr Shumba said Bonda was the best performer in the province with 111 students with five As or better, followed by St Faith’s High with 107 candidates.
Bonda’s overall pass rate rose from 96.35 percent in 2015 to 98 percent in 2016.
Four students had their results missing.
“I am impressed by the quality of the 2016 results. I want to say congratulations to those schools that have hoisted the province’s flag high. And for those schools lagging behind, I say pull up your socks, there is still a tomorrow to excel,” said Mr Shumba.
“Though statistics to establish the number of candidates with five As or better and five O levels are not yet out, I can safely tell you that as Manicaland we are above the national average pass rate. We have over 30 schools with students with five As or better,” said Mr Shumba.
The brilliant performance by mostly mission schools has, once again, put to the fore the need for Government and local authorities to improve learning conditions at their schools —which continue to play second fiddle to well resources and technologically advanced schools.
Bonda and St Faith’s are run by the Anglican Diocese of Manicaland while Kriste Mambo is run by the Roman Catholic. Bonda had 111 out of 202 candidates with five As or better. The highest sat for 13 subjects and scored 13As.
Only three students failed.
“Last year (2015) results were good, and the 2016 ones are better, and we are on our way to produce the best. We belong there — at the top,” said Bonda head Mr Chitsidzo Caston Samanga.
St Faith lies second with 107 students, out of 144 candidates, with five As or better and a pass rate of 97.9 percent. The best performers were Tofaranashe Gumbo and Lathegius Kahuni with 15As.
St Faith’s High head Mr Moses Mukoyi said these were the best qualitative O level results in the history of the school.
“A bumper harvest of As across subjects. The success momentum continues, thank God Almighty. The hunger for achievement from staff and students is absolutely amazing. Sometimes I wonder and marvel what drives this passion,” said Mr Mukoyi.
Kriste Mambo head Mr Andrew Mvere could afford a smile with 89 students with five As or better, of which 32 have 10As or better. It has a pass rate of 97.35 percent.
Kriste Mambo has improved over the last years to become a key driver of quality education — garnering 96, 4 percent in 2012; 92,3 percent in 2013 and 98,17 percent pass rate in 2014.
St Augustine’s Tsambe was fourth with 83 students with five As.
St Dominic’s muscled its way into the fifth position with 78 students with five As. St Dominic’s head Mr Francis Mukoyi said this was a record O level achievement for the Catholic school.
“We are on cloud nine, having attained the record result at O level with 78 students garnering five As and above and a percentage pass rate of 87. Our highest achieving student is Tendai Mundenda with 11As,” said Mr Mukoyi.
Hartzel was sixth with 48 students with five As or better, followed by Nyanga High (Marist) with 47, Marange with 43 and Nyashanu with 31.
Prudence Zvikomborero Mamvura, a whiz kid from a virtually unknown Murambinda B Secondary School, in Buhera, who won the coveted 2016 SADC Essay Competition in August 2016, wrote another piece of history when she scooped 9As.
