FAITH NDOU
MASVINGO-The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has blamed the continued decline in Zimbabwe’s education outcomes on structural challenges affecting the country’s education system following the release of the June 2026 ZIMSEC Ordinary Level examination results which recorded a national pass rate of 3%.
In a statement in possession of The Midweek Watch, ARTUZ said the results reflected deeper challenges including underfunding of education, poor teacher remuneration, shortages of qualified teachers, inadequate learning resources and limited support for learners.
“While June examination results have traditionally been lower than November results because they are predominantly written by private candidates, candidates rewriting subjects and those who failed to write November exams due to unforeseen circumstances, the continued decline in recent years highlights the worsening challenges confronting Zimbabwe’s education system,” said ARTUZ.
The union said the results should not only be viewed as statistics but as evidence of the broader crisis affecting public education.
“These results should not be viewed just as statistics but as a reflection of the broader crisis affecting public education,” ARTUZ said.
The teachers’ organisation expressed concern that June examination candidates continue to receive limited policy attention despite thousands of learners relying on the examination session as a second chance to improve their academic prospects.
“Many of these learners are victims of the same education system that has failed them through exorbitant examination fees, economic hardship and barriers to accessing formal schooling,” said ARTUZ.
ARTUZ called for targeted interventions to support June candidates, including affordable examination fees, accessible learning opportunities and programmes aimed at improving their chances of success.
The union also questioned the continued emphasis on five Ordinary Level passes as the main measure of learner success, arguing that Zimbabwe’s education system should recognise different talents and abilities among learners.
“Every learner possesses unique talents that should be identified, nurtured and developed from an early stage,” ARTUZ said.
The organisation called for greater investment in vocational education, technical training, talent identification and early specialisation to provide learners with practical and marketable skills beyond the traditional academic pathway.
ARTUZ urged government to urgently address challenges affecting the education sector by recruiting more teachers, improving salaries and working conditions, adequately funding public schools and ensuring learners have access to quality teaching and learning resources.
“Quality education cannot be achieved without investing in teachers and learners alike. The future of Zimbabwe depends on a well-supported, inclusive and adequately funded public education system,” said ARTUZ.
Over the last three June examination sessions (2024–2026), ZIMSEC Ordinary Level (O-Level) pass rates for candidates writing five or more subjects remained below 6%, recording 4.44% in 2024, 5.87% in 2025, and 3.00% in 2026. Meanwhile, Advanced Level (A-Level) pass rates for candidates writing two or more subjects were 72.23% in 2024, 67.74% in 2025 and 67.74% in 2026.
