By Witness Chipwere, Brenda Kayo & Blessings Tambala:

This year’s Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education (PSLCE) examinations have commenced on a positive note in most parts of the country, including in Mzuzu City, the only dent being the number of candidates that have not sat examinations in some districts.

A visit to Mzuzu City schools such as Kaviwale and Katoto showed that there was heavy presence of police officers.

At Kaviwale Primary School centre, 240 candidates registered for the examinations, with 247 candidates sitting examinations at Katoto Primary School.

Bonster Lungu, the examinations’ supervisor at Kaviwale, expressed optimism about the students’ performance, attributing it to the dedication of their teachers.

“Every candidate sat examinations without issues,” Lungu said.

At Katoto Primary School, supervisor Oscar Kasato shared similar sentiments, noting that preparations went smoothly and that examinations administration work went equally smoothly.

Kasato added that out of 250 registered candidates, three were unable to sit the examinations as they were selected to enrol in form one during the second selection.

“We wish all the registered candidates the best of luck and encourage them to work harder for them to chalk excellent results,” Kasato said.

Meanwhile, Tapiwa Gausi, a candidate at Kaviwale Primary School and aspires to become a civil engineer, expressed confidence in her readiness for the examinations.

“I expect to pass the examinations and secure a spot in a national secondary school,” Gausi said.

At least 4,411candidates are sitting PSLCE exams in Mzuzu City.

In Machinga District, 74 candidates are not sitting this year’s PSLCE due to unpaid examination fees, among other reasons.

According to Machinga District Council Director of Education and Sports Nellie Kamtedza, out of 7,165 candidates who registered to sit this year’s PSLCE, only 7,091 managed to pay examination fees.

“This means that about 74 learners will unfortunately not be able to sit the examinations due to various reasons, including failure to pay examination fees,” she said.

However, Kamtedza said the examinations began smoothly, with no issues reported during the first paper in all the 18 centres in the district.

“The examinations started well, with no major disturbances or incidents reported across all the examinations centres in the district,” Kamtedza said.

Kamtedza added that the authorities were paying close attention to 31 candidates with disabilities who are siting this year’s