The Zimbabwe School Examination Council has proposed to print school certificates in the country because it lacks the foreign exchange required to print them abroad.
Already under fire for failing to hold secondary exams in a timely manner, the council will seek parliamentary approval for the move, sources close to ZIMSEC said.
The council is two years behind in delivering certificates. Candidates for university are only getting results slips, which are easy to falsify. Higher-education candidates have also had trouble getting transcripts, though these don't require special paper.
VOA was unable to obtain comment from ZIMSEC Director Happy Ndanga.
But opposition lawmaker Fidelis Mhashu, a member of the parliamentary education committee, said the ZIMSEC chief last week acknowledged in a committee hearing that his organization has run into severe problems and needs assistance.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe President Takavafira Zhou told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that ZIMSEC’s track record raises questions about its proposal to print the sensitive certificates locally.