Yeukai K. is one of Tariro's many students to pass her O level exams this year!
Exciting news about Tariro’s 2011 pass rates!
I’m writing today with exceptionally encouraging news from our program coordinator, Tafadzwa Muzhandu. As some of you already know, students enrolled in secondary school in Zimbabwe write Ordinary, or “O” level exams after finishing Form 4. Their results on these exams determine whether or not they are able to proceed to Advanced, or “A” level study. In the past, Tariro’s pass rates have significantly beaten the national average. In 2010, for example, roughly 30% of our students passed their O-level exams, compared with only 16.5% of students nationally. However, we still haven’t been satisfied with a pass rate of 30%, and have sought to implement a number of strategies to raise our pass rate. These strategies have included extra-curricular tutoring and academic guidance counseling, as well as revisiting the schools we sent out students to, in order to ensure they are receiving quality instruction.
This year, we’ve seen our efforts result in huge gains for our students! In 2011, sixteen Tariro students wrote O-level exams, and ten of them passed, giving us a much higher, 62% pass rate! This is well above Zimbabwe’s 2011 national average of 19.5%.
What does this mean for our students, and for Tariro?
As Tafadzwa reports, our exceptionally high pass rate in 2011 means that we have a record number of six students proceeding to A-level study. This potentially means that in three or four years, we will have five or more students enrolled at the University of Zimbabwe. We’re so pleased to see our efforts paying off, and bringing tangible, positive results for our students!
This development also means that we have some additional fundraising to do! A-level study is considerably more expensive than O-level study, especially as Tariro must be able to cover the costs of taking A-level exams once students finish the two years of Advanced level courses. In addition, most A-level students required new uniforms, and more expensive textbooks. Finally, career guidance counseling efforts must be intensified for A-level students, in order to ensure that they make a successful transition into University study.
We are committed to taking our students as far as they can go in school, extending to the level of a Bachelor’s degree at the University of Zimbabwe. But we can’t do it without your help! Please consider making a donation to assist Tariro in covering the additional costs of sponsoring such a high number of A-level students in 2012. If you’d like to contact us to discuss making a donation, or propose a fundraising event on our behalf in your community, we’d also love to hear from you!
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thumbs up Tariro, it takes such people like you to make a difference in today’s selfish world. It might seem an insignificant number but you have done great to those souls that you helped. May your works be blessed and be given due recognition. I have also been challenged to be practical iin terms of touching other people’s lives. As they say ‘if you wait to be asked to help, you have waited too long.’ Bravo
Thank you so much for your support and encouragement! We appreciate it very much!