05/12/2025
Examinations Council of Zambia Executive Director - Dr Michael Chilala this morning briefed members of the Media on new provisions of the Candidate Registration for 2026 Examinations.
Highlights of the briefing included the following:
Registration of candidates will require their images (portrait pictures) to be taken and these will appear on the examination registers and eventually on the certificates. This is a security aspect which has been added to the registration process to curb incidents of impersonation especially for General Certificate of Education (GCE) candidates. Including the candidate’s image is one way of fighting examination malpractices.
Candidates for the Primary School Leaving Examination will need to provide a birth certificate or birth record when registering (However, this is not compulsory for now).
Parents’ details will also be captured on the Online Candidate Registration System (OCRS) to give them an opportunity to verify the details of candidates before they are confirmed by the ECZ. This is in a bid to reduce requests for name amendments. In previous years, the ECZ has been receiving numerous reports with claims that candidates were registered for the wrong subjects or that their names were misspelt.
“Contrary to the situation were the ECZ and the Schools were the only ones responsible for these amendments to take place, we have now taken it to the family to verify the details. It is upon that verification that Candidate Registration will be confirmed,” Dr Chilala said.
By Public Relations Unit
EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL OF ZAMBIA
