The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) 2026 Ordinary Level and Advanced Level examinations begin nationwide on Monday, October 12, with the examination council expected to maintain tight security throughout the examination period.
O’Level candidates will begin their examinations with Mathematics in the morning, followed by English in the afternoon, whereas the A’Level candidates will begin with Guidance and Counselling and Life Skills Education in the morning, followed by Animal Science, Crop Science and Agriculture Engineering.
The examinations follow the completion of the Grade 7 examinations on October 6, marking another stage in the country’s 2026 national examination calendar.
ZIMSEC has introduced new security measures aimed at preventing examination malpractice and strengthening the handling of examination materials.
The measures include personalised answer sheets designed to make it more difficult for candidates to bring answer sheets belonging to other learners or containing pre-written answers into examination rooms.
Under the tracking system, question papers can be traced to the examination centres where they were allocated. This is expected to help authorities investigate suspected leakages and identify the source of any leaked papers.
The system could also help protect candidates who were not involved in examination malpractice by making it easier to establish where a suspected leak originated.
The introduction of these measures comes as candidates across the country prepare to sit their O-Level and A-Level examinations, with examination security remaining important in promoting fairness and protecting the integrity of the results.
