Zimbabwe’s government has made ZIMSEC compulsory for every school from 2027, including private and trust schools that until now entered learners only for Cambridge. If your child is in Form Three or Lower Six on the Cambridge route, this change lands in their final exam year. This guide sets out what has actually been announced, what is still unclear, a timeline by form, and how to prepare without doubling the workload.

What the government announced

Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Torerayi Moyo told the Senate on 1 May 2026 that, from 2027, every learner in Zimbabwe must sit ZIMSEC examinations, whether they attend a public, private or trust school (AllAfrica/New Zimbabwe, 3 May 2026). Schools were given 18 months to align teaching plans, train staff and inform parents.

The Ministry’s Director of Communications and Advocacy, Taungana Ndoro, said the legal basis is the Education Act: Section 63 provides for a single national curriculum, and regulations under Section 69 allow the minister to enforce compliance. His words were blunt: “After 2027, compliance will not be optional” (The Herald, 5 May 2026).

Key points in plain terms:

• ZIMSEC becomes the sole examining body for national examinations from 2027.
• Cambridge is not banned. It becomes a secondary option.
• Schools must apply to keep Cambridge. A school that wants to offer Cambridge alongside ZIMSEC has to submit a formal application and show how learners will manage both syllabuses without harming their ZIMSEC results. The minister said such schools “must justify how they are going to achieve it” (AllAfrica, May 2026).

Cambridge’s statement and the Ministry’s reply

On 15 June 2026, Cambridge University Press & Assessment said that, following its talks with the Ministry, learners would continue to have a choice of curriculum. The Ministry rejected this the next day. Ndoro said: “There is no choice of curriculum.” He added that the Heritage-Based Curriculum (HBC) is mandatory for all learners, including those in Cambridge programmes, and that pupils may sit Cambridge only as a voluntary, supplementary qualification (The Herald, 16 June 2026).

The same statement gave two dates worth noting: ZIMSEC is the sole national examining body from 2027, and the first national examinations under the HBC will be held in 2028.

Not everyone supports the plan. The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) called it “inadequate and structurally flawed” because elite and urban private schools can still offer Cambridge alongside ZIMSEC, which the union says keeps a two-tier system in place (AllAfrica, 6 May 2026).

What is still unclear

As of 12 November 2026, we could not find:

• a published list of schools approved to keep Cambridge,
• the application form or approval criteria,
• a statutory instrument or published regulation setting out the rules,
• any statement on how the policy treats private candidates who enter Cambridge through the British Council (see our guide on sitting Cambridge as a private candidate in Zimbabwe).

Your school head and the Ministry have the final word on how this applies to your child. Ask in writing, and keep the reply.

Timeline by current form

Zimbabwe’s school year runs from January to December, so “2027” means the year starting in January. This table uses the form your child is in during 2026.

Form in 2026	Final exam year	What the policy means
Form Four	November 2026	Already sitting. The new rule starts in 2027.
Upper Six	November 2026	Already sitting. The new rule starts in 2027.
Form Three	O Level in 2027	Sits ZIMSEC O Level, according to the Ministry (The Herald). Cambridge only as an extra, if the school is approved.
Lower Six	A Level in 2027	Sits ZIMSEC A Level, according to the Ministry. Cambridge only as an extra, if the school is approved.
Form Four going into Lower Six in 2027	A Level in 2028	ZIMSEC A Level. 2028 is the year the Ministry gives for the first HBC national exams.
Form Two	O Level in 2028	ZIMSEC O Level, in the first HBC exam year.
Form One	O Level in 2029	ZIMSEC O Level under the HBC.

Form Three and Lower Six families have the least time. They have one school year to cover a ZIMSEC syllabus that their school may not have taught until now.

What Form Three and Lower Six families should ask the school

1. Has the school applied to keep Cambridge? If yes, will your child sit both? If no, Cambridge ends for them at school.
2. Which ZIMSEC syllabus will be examined in 2027? The Ministry has published revised Forms 1–4 syllabuses for 2024–2030 on its website, for example Geography Forms 1–4. When we checked in November 2026, we found no Forms 5–6 syllabuses on the Ministry site, so Lower Six families should ask the school for the A Level syllabus document directly.
3. How will school-based projects be handled? The revised Geography Forms 1–4 syllabus gives 20% of the final mark to School Based Continuous Assessment. For ZIMSEC public exams, that 20% comes from two projects done in Form Three and Form Four, worth 10% each. A learner who spent Form Three on Cambridge may not have done that project. Ask how the school will cover it.
4. How many subjects can be entered? Government capped ZIMSEC entries at nine subjects at O Level and three at A Level in 2026 (The Observer, March 2026).
5. What are the registration deadlines and fees? In 2026, ZIMSEC registration for the November exams was due on 27 March and then extended to 22 May (AllAfrica/New Zimbabwe, March 2026). Plan for early in the year.

How to prepare for both exams without doubling the work

Sitting ZIMSEC and Cambridge in the same year is heavy. These steps keep it manageable.

• Map the overlap first. Put the ZIMSEC syllabus next to your Cambridge syllabus and mark each topic as “both”, “Cambridge only” or “ZIMSEC only”. In humanities subjects such as Geography and History, many core topics will appear in both. Revise “both” topics once, then practise each board’s question style separately.
• Learn each board’s paper format. Marks, timing and question types differ. For example, the revised ZIMSEC O Level Geography exam is two papers: a 40-mark multiple-choice paper worth 24% and a 100-mark structured and data-response paper worth 56% (Ministry syllabus above). Cambridge papers are set out in each syllabus on the Cambridge website.
• Keep past-paper practice board-specific. For Cambridge, work through recent papers such as our A Level Geography 9696 May/June 2026 papers and A Level History 9489 May/June 2026 papers. For ZIMSEC, use the papers and question-and-answer booklets your school provides.
• Protect the exam that counts. Under the new policy, the ZIMSEC result is the national qualification. If time runs short, prioritise it and treat Cambridge as the extra.

Note that Tutopiya does not produce ZIMSEC materials. Our resources follow Cambridge and Edexcel syllabus codes.

What sitting both will cost

A learner who sits both pays both sets of fees. In 2026 the full ZIMSEC fee was US$24 per O Level subject and US$48 per A Level subject, with public-school candidates in the November exams paying US$11 and US$22 after a government subsidy (NewZimbabwe, 4 November 2026). Cabinet decided on 3 November 2026 to end the blanket subsidy and keep it only for vulnerable learners (The Herald, 4 November 2026). Our guide to ZIMSEC exam fees for 2027 explains who still qualifies.

On the Cambridge side, British Council Zimbabwe listed a full Cambridge A Level for private candidates at US$200 per subject for the November 2026 series (British Council Zimbabwe fee list). School entries are priced by the school.

For revision, Tutopiya Learning Portal Premium is S$50 a year (about US$39) or S$10 a month (about US$7.80). That covers every Cambridge subject for less than one full-fee ZIMSEC A Level entry. We converted at 1 SGD ≈ USD 0.78 (November 2026).

Start free

• Create a free Learning Portal account. The Tutopiya Learning Portal covers 15 curricula, 130 subjects and more than 8,600 subtopics, organised by Cambridge and Edexcel syllabus code, with notes, practice questions, quizzes, flashcards and past papers. A large section is free.
• Studying Literature? Read our guide to Cambridge A Level Literature in English set texts and essay technique.
• Need help with a Cambridge or Edexcel subject? Tutopiya’s one-to-one tutors teach IGCSE, International A Level and IB. Book a free trial lesson.

Frequently asked questions

Is ZIMSEC compulsory for all schools in Zimbabwe from 2027? +

Yes. Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Torerayi Moyo told the Senate on 1 May 2026 that from 2027 every school, including private and trust schools, must register its learners for ZIMSEC examinations. The Ministry has said that after 2027 compliance will not be optional.

Has Zimbabwe banned Cambridge exams? +

No. The Ministry says Cambridge has not been abolished. Learners may sit Cambridge as an additional, voluntary qualification, but it does not replace or exempt them from the ZIMSEC national examinations. Schools that want to keep offering Cambridge alongside ZIMSEC must apply and justify how learners will manage both.

What happens to Form Three and Lower Six Cambridge learners? +

According to the Ministry, learners who were in Form Three and Lower Six on the Cambridge route in 2026 will sit ZIMSEC O Level and A Level respectively in their final exam year, which is 2027. Ask your school whether it has applied to keep Cambridge as an extra option.

Can learners still choose Cambridge instead of the national curriculum? +

Not according to the Ministry. Cambridge said on 15 June 2026 that learners would keep a choice of curriculum, but the Ministry rejected that, saying there is no choice of curriculum and that the Heritage-Based Curriculum is mandatory for all learners, including those in Cambridge programmes.

Will students have to pay for both ZIMSEC and Cambridge exams? +

A learner who sits both will pay both sets of fees. For 2026, the full ZIMSEC fee was US$24 per O Level subject and US$48 per A Level subject, and British Council Zimbabwe listed a full Cambridge A Level for private candidates at US$200 per subject for the November 2026 series. Check 2027 fees with your school, as they had not been published at the time of writing.

When are the first national exams under the Heritage-Based Curriculum? +

The Ministry said in June 2026 that the first national examinations under the Heritage-Based Curriculum will be held in 2028, and that ZIMSEC becomes the sole examining body for national examinations from 2027.

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