Dokora grilled in Parliament over From One enrolment

 How has the system behaved to date?  This is how it has behaved.  So far 63% of those that have accessed boarding places have gone through online.  There are still some vacancies and we are issuing a press release and I can just highlight some of the schools that still have vacancies.  The pressure was greatest in school like Goromonzi, Rusununguko, Anderson in the Midlands and so on.  At Goromonzi a total of 1085 students applied to get in there and they only have 105 places and so you have these kinds of huge numbers, at St. Faith for instance, we have over 850 candidates and all they have is 120 places and so on.

So, each school then set up an Admissions Committee so that they could go through the list that has expressed interest in the particular school.  They would take into account, if it is a mission school, matters to do with the responsible authority requests and so on and then the performance scores of the young learners who wish to go into that school.  So 63% have been allocated spaces and then about 3 000 or so are still pending.  In other words, there are still vacancies for about 3 000.   I have asked my colleagues at the Ministry to provide me with the actual details and I might just be able to give that before the end of Question Time here.

The schools that still have openings are the schools that you see when you go online and these are, in Manicaland for instances; St. Killian’s, Regina Coeli, Makumbe High, St. Patricks, Biriiri, Nyakatsapa, Chikore, Gedion Mhlanga.  In Mashonaland Central; Mavhuradonha High, Chinduduma 2, St. Phillips, Amai Mugabe High, Mary Mount Mission High, Nyamatikiti High, Mushumbi Government High and then of course let me look at Matebeleland North; Marist Brothers, Inyathi, Tsholotsho High, Binga Government High, St. James High, David Livingstone High; in Midlands; Chaplin, Pakame, Nashville, Bulawayo itself, Milton, Townsend, Northly Eastview et cetera.

Some of the schools in Bulawayo received mere four or five prospective candidates so there are places there.  I thank you, Hon. Speaker.

HON.  MLISWA:  On a point of order Mr. Speaker Sir.

THE HON. SPEAKER:  What is your point of order?

HON. MLISWA: My point of order is that he was going to advertise all this so, there was no point for him going through the entire list.  I thank you Mr. Speaker.

THE HON. SPEAKER:  You do not interrupt an answer; you can then follow up with supplementary questions as you comment.  I thank you.

HON. SITHOLE:  Thank you Mr. Speaker.  My supplementary question is regarding to the Electronic Ministerial Application Platform which is being used by the Ministry.  In terms of the ownership of the software, we have heard reports of issues being raised by Purple Design Technology Company regarding the ownership. We would want to know from the Minister if we are using a legal software which they have designed as a Ministry or it has been pirated?  Thank you.

HON. DR. DOKORA:  The moment you say, you have been hearing these matters and that these matters are in the courts, then we allow the courts to make their determinations there.  Thank you.

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