Govt dismisses viral WhatsApp message on Zimsec exam leaks - ZimFact
Ngoni Mhuruyengwe
January 13, 2021
CLAIM: The Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council’s (ZIMSEC) Mathematics and English exam papers for the ongoing November session have been leaked, with 15 schools and 20 pupils being named as culprits.
Source: Message circulating on WhatsApp
VERDICT: FALSE. The WhatsApp message is fake.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, under which ZIMSEC falls, has dismissed as false, a viral WhatsApp message claiming that some examination papers in the ongoing November public examination session had been leaked and would have to be re-written.
The WhatsApp message also lists 15 schools and 20 students as having been implicated in the exam paper leaks.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education’s director of communications and advocacy, Blessings Taungana Ndoro, told ZimFact that the WhatsApp message was false and designed to cause alarm.
“Parents, guardians, teachers and students should not panic because of such messages,” Ndoro said.
“The Zimbabwe School Examination Council would never send out or publish names of students who are under the age of legal majority citing them as criminals.”
As is typical of fabricated images and notices, the WhatsApp message’s heading bears ZIMSEC’s name, to make it look official and authentic.
However, the message is replete with both spelling and grammatical errors, a key give-away for fabrications.
ZIMSEC