The leader of opposition Kondwani Nankhumwa has asked President Dr Lazarus Chakwera to launch a commission of inquiry into the leakage of MSCE examination administered by Malawi National Examinations Board (MANEB), which have seen been cancelled.

Nankhumwa said in a statement, “I wish to request President Dr Lazarus Chakwera to immediately set up a commission of inquiry to establish what led to the shocking leakage of examination papers”.

He expressed his “deepest dismay” over reports that the 2020 Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examination which were underway across the country, have been cancelled following massive leakage of examination papers.

Nankhumwa said this was “a sad turn of events considering that the time and resources invested by all stakeholders, including parents, guardians, students, the Malawi National Examinations Board (MANEB), and the Ministry of Education in preparing for these examinations have gone to waste.”

He called this a retrogressive episode in the collective quest to improve education standards in the country.

MANEB will administer fresh MSCE examinations in March 2021 at a cost of MK4.5 billion.

He said he finds the development “a huge setback on education development in Malawi and a psychological dent on the students who worked extremely hard, amidst COVID-19 challenges, to prepare for these examination.”

The opposition leader said it was apparent from the circumstances surrounding the cancellation that students were innocent victims of a collapsing education system, riddled with many loopholes, including corruption.

“Government must ensure that parents and guardians are not further financially burdened due to some incompetent and corrupt public officers,” he said.

Chakwera is due to address the nation on Thursday from 9.30am and he is likely to touch on this leakage.

Credit: MBC