Harare — ANXIETY has gripped prospective Form One pupils who sat for Grade 7 examinations last year with Zimsec failing to give exact dates for the release of results ahead of the first term that begins next Tuesday.

Grade 7 results are critical for securing Form One places as they are a measure of progress made over seven years of primary school education.

The Herald was inundated with calls from anxious parents who wanted to know when the results would be released.

Contacted for comment, Zimsec director Mr Happy Ndanga could only say the results would be released "soon" as the council was still working on the examinations.

"Marking of the exams was completed weeks ago but we are currently capturing the results. We cannot give the day or date of release but hope that the results will be made available as soon as possible given the importance of the public examinations.

"We have encountered problems with our data capturing machine and that has delayed the release of the results. It is our hope that the results will be released before schools open," he said.

Traditionally, Grade Seven results are released a week before schools close for the third term or the first two weeks of December to give students and parents ample time to secure Form One places.

The situation has been worsened by the fact that the pupils failed to sit for the exams as scheduled owing to some logistical problems.

Parents who spoke to The Herald were keen to know the contingency measures being put in place in the event that Zimsec failed to release the results in time for the First Term.

"We are in a dilemma over the fate of our children as we cannot secure places for Form One at most schools. Unfortunately, we could not take our children for pre-examination tests as we felt they were unnecessarily expensive while some schools said they would only offer places to those who passed the 2008 public examinations," said Mr Clayton Shoshore of Kuwadzana.

Another parent said they did not have enough time to prepare now that most schools were seeking approval to charge fees in foreign currency from the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture.

Others asked for permission from the ministry to use mid-year examination results to secure places for their children.

A student enrolling at a new school needs, among other things, uniforms, books and fees and this requires time and money to prepare.

Meanwhile, the marking of Ordinary and Advanced Level examinations started slowly in Harare with a few markers trickling in to confirm the marking rates and register for the exercise at Belvedere Technical Teachers' College and the Harare Institute of Technology.