THE Examinations Council of Zambia (ECZ) will no longer spend K4 million on the printing of statements of results because the document will now be accessed electronically. And ECZ will now award the status of examination centres to all schools recognised by the Ministry of General Education. Addressing journalists in Lusaka yesterday, ECZ director Michael Chilala said last year’s examinations were the last to use manual statements of results.

“This innovation of accessing results online by candidates will help reduce on the costs which the ECZ has been incurring to purchase paper and print results. “On paper alone, the council was spending about K4 million annually to have the statements printed,” he said. Dr Chilala said the innovation will cut unnecessary costs ECZ was incurring. “We have also invested in automating the process of the test development to reduce human involvement in the construction of question paper.

“Once we implement the system by 2020, there will be full accountability for those involved in the setting of examinations and will drastically reduce the cost,” Dr Chilala said. And Dr Chilala said the ECZ will award the status of examination centres to all schools recognised by the Ministry of General Education to enhance access to examinations.

“There has been a public outcry that some pupils move long distances to sit for examinations in different schools from where they learn. “This has led some pupils to drop out of the school system all together, because they probably had nowhere to stay while they wrote examinations,” Dr Chilala said. He said the Ministry [of General Education] should ensure that schools have appropriate facilities before they are authorised to operate as examination centres to maintain the required standards for learning and assessment. “The provincial education officers must ensure that all recognised schools, both private and public, are presented to the ECZ before August this year,” he said.