ZIMSEC is an autonomous parastatal under the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture. It is an internationally accredited examinations board. Its syllabuses were evaluated by the National Academic Recognition and Information Centre (NARIC) in the UK, and found to be equivalent to the General Certificate of Education Standard offered in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, United States of America and the other English speaking countries, hence the internationally recognized qualifications conferred by the Council.

Why should anyone choose zimsec over cambridge examination board

ZIMSEC is an autonomous parastatal under the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture.
It is an internationally accredited examinations board. Its syllabuses were evaluated by the National Academic Recognition and Information Centre (NARIC) in the UK, and found to be equivalent to the General Certificate of Education Standard offered in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, United States of America and the other English speaking countries, hence the internationally recognized qualifications conferred by the Council.

Many still ponder, whether they should choose zimsec or cambridge for their O and A level sittings. Not just students take time to think about this, but parents and schools as well (private school). There is a general belief that writting for cambridge as opposed to zimsec gives someone an international exposure and makes those results to be generally acceptable internationally. Yes, this is true, but never to say writting zimsec does not have any advantages. Let us look at some of the advantages to the candidate:

1. zimsec is written in most if not all schools in Zimbabwe, this means that there are more examination centers with zimsec and you can easily get  one close toyou.

2. zimsec comes with relatively low examination registration fees that means it is affordable to many.

3. schools that register with zimsec for their examinations are many and in most cases way cheaper in fees compared to those schools that does strictly cambridge.

4. the zimsec curriculum teaches relates most concepts and application to zimbabwe, that means if you are a zimbabwean it becomes easier for you to relate to examples, projects and case studies in some subjects

5. it is also acceptable internationally, it may not be easily identified compared to cambridge but to say zimsec is not internationally acceptable is not true.

There are also advantage to the nation of having the local zimsec curriculum. Some advantages to the nation of having ZIMSEC are

1.  Indigenization of the curriculum would be guaranteed

2. ensuring that education was made relevant to the socio-economic environment is beneficial to the country

3. In particular teaching and assessment materials would be drawn from an environment with which learners are familiar and to which they can relate and apply their learning.

4. the nation can take time to emphasie on those sectors that produce more for the nations like agriculture, mining etc

Economic considerations:  government would be able to determine the levels of examination fees in accordance with the prevailing economic environment; the localization would stem the flow of foreign currency from the country.

Educational Consideration: transfer of skills (question setting, marking and grading) from foreigners to locals; increased confidence in the educational fields as locals became more and more confident in handling examination issues.

Political Considerations: localization ensures the end of colonial curricula in Zimbabwe.