Even though we now have a continuous assessment curriculum where students are assessed on a regular basis the ZIMSEC final examinations are still very important. The final examination still constitutes 70% of the final grade that you will get. Most students and parents will go to great lengths to ensure that they or their children get good grades. For some, this includes going as far as buying the November examination papers in advance. There are several scammers who have taken advantage of this desperation as they are charging people a fortune in return for “fake” exam papers.

Several individuals or possibly just one individual posing as different people have come to the attention of both ZIMSEC and state media. They go by the names of Dr TN Machache ( phone number 0775 197 627), Mr PG Chigumbu (0736 312 609) and Mr N Mwenje (0789 962 343). Again it is not clear whether these are several individuals or just one scammer. None of the above numbers seems reachable at the moment.

In their adverts on social media, the scammer(s) said that they were selling genuine November 2022 examination papers for Mathematics, Combined Science, English Language, Shona Language, Geography and History. When the individual called Dr Machache was contacted by members of state media he claimed that he was no longer offering Mathematics and Combined Science papers because the maximum number of people he wanted had been reached. He said each paper was going for US$80.

ZIMSEC meanwhile was not impressed by the revelations calling the papers fake. I am inclined to agree with them. While leaks have been known to happen they often take place very close to the said examination’s date because leaking a paper this early will give ZIMSEC ample time to issue another paper. There are also high chances of getting caught as the paper is likely to reach a wider circle which increases the chances of discovery by the authorities. The paper is almost certainly fake.

Good day, ZIMSEC is aware of the image with purported 2022 exam papers on sale. The Security department of the Council has verified that these are fake papers being sold in an attempt to defraud those who purchase them.
Nicky Dlamini ZIMSEC public relations manager