Parent drags ZIMSEC, Education minister to court over ‘O’ level subjects limit

A HARARE-based parent has approached the High Court to contest a government directive restricting Ordinary Level candidates to nine subjects, after his son was ordered to drop three subjects he had already paid for at Mutare Boys High School. Walter Mutowo lodged the application this Wednesday in his own name and on behalf of his minor son, Anesu Mutowo. The case lists the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (ZIMSEC), the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, and Mutare Boys High as respondents. Court papers prepared by Lenon Rwizi of Hamunakwadi & Nyandoro Law Chambers state that Mutowo registered Anesu for 12 O’ Level subjects and settled the full exam fees on March 16, 2026. “Much to my disbelief, on March 24, 2026, the headmaster advised me that under a fresh policy directive, the school had to cut his registered subjects from 12 to nine,” Mutowo said in his founding affidavit. The school cited the “Heritage Based Curriculum Framework,” a policy issued jointly by ZIMSEC and the ministry. The framework, anchored in Secretary’s Circular No. 10 of 2024 signed by ministry secretary Moses Mhike, prescribes a ceiling of nine learning areas at O’ Level and three at A’ Level. Mutowo argues that neither the ZIMSEC Act nor the Education Act grants the examination body or the minister authority to impose such a limit, rendering the directive ultra vires and illegal. He further claims the cap breaches Section 75 of the Constitution, which protects the right to education, and Section 68, which guarantees administrative justice. Because Anesu had already registered, studied, and paid for 12 subjects before the rule was enforced, Mutowo says the move tramples on his son’s legitimate expectation. Describing the nine-subject ceiling as “grossly unreasonable,” Mutowo said it “actively disadvantages high-performing learners.” “It suppresses intellectual ambition and compels top students to discard subjects that could define their careers. The government is effectively imposing a roof on academic excellence,” he argued. The application also highlights a financial bind. ZIMSEC accepted fees for 12 subjects on March 16, yet enforced the cap eight days later. Mutowo is now faced with a conundrum to seek a partial refund for the three dropped subjects or pulling Anesu out entirely to enroll him at a centre that allows more than nine. The draft order seeks to nullify Clause 3.3 of the Heritage Based Curriculum Framework, compel ZIMSEC to let Anesu write all 12 subjects paid for in March, and order ZIMSEC and the minister to cover legal costs jointly. Historically, Zimbabwe’s system has placed no limit on the number of O’ Level or A’ Level subjects a candidate may take. The Heritage Based Curriculum Framework 2024–2030, introduced via Circular No. 10 of 2024, replaced the Competence Based Curriculum and introduced the subject cap for lower secondary learners. The case is yet to be heard. The post Parent drags ZIMSEC, Education minister to court over ‘O’ level subjects limit appeared first on NewZimbabwe.com .