(WHY ZIMBABWE MUST TEACH SALES FROM KINDERGARTEN)
ZIMSEC has spoken. In November 2025, 36,282 candidates wrote two or more A-Level subjects. 34,740 passed with Grade E or better. That’s a 95.75% pass rate.
Ordinary Level results also improved, with the national pass rate rising to 35%, the third year in a row of progress.
On paper, we are winning. In real life? Eish… that’s another story.
Because after the celebrations, the ululations, and the Facebook posts saying “Proud parent”, reality quietly asks one dangerous question:
What exactly are we preparing these kids for?
WE ARE PRODUCING PASS MARKS, NOT POWER
Our curriculum is excellent at one thing: Creating employees.
Pass exams. Get a certificate. Look for a job. Wait.
But the world has moved on.
Jobs are shrinking. AI is replacing roles. Companies are cutting costs faster than kombis skipping stops.
Yet our schools are still training children for a job market that no longer exists.
No one teaches them how to:
- Sell an idea
- Negotiate a deal
- Pitch themselves
- Create value
- Close an opportunity
But guess what skill they’ll need whether they become:
- Doctors
- Engineers
- Farmers
- Lawyers
- Politicians
- Entrepreneurs
SALES.
SALES IS NOT A SUBJECT IT IS A LIFE SKILL
Let’s kill this myth quickly.
Sales is not shouting:
“Boss it’s $2!”
Sales is:
- Convincing your parents to pay school fees
- Convincing a bank to give you a loan
- Convincing investors to trust your vision
- Convincing customers to choose you
- Convincing another country to respect your interests
Life is one long negotiation.
If you can’t sell, you’ll always be sold to.
WHY AFRICA IS ALWAYS “DRIBBLED” AT INTERNATIONAL TABLES
Let’s be honest (and painful).
Africa is rich.
- Minerals
- Land
- Youth
- Ideas
But when it’s time to negotiate internationally, we walk in with resources and walk out with crumbs.
Why?
Because:
- We don’t know how to sell our value
- We don’t know how to negotiate firmly
- We don’t know how to package our story
- We don’t know how to walk away from bad deals
Sales is confidence. Sales is positioning. Sales is power.
You don’t lose deals because you’re poor You lose deals because you can’t articulate your worth.
TEACH SALES FROM KINDERGARTEN (YES, KINDERGARTEN)
Imagine this curriculum:
Kindergarten
- Confidence
- Communication
- Asking questions
- Expressing ideas
Primary School
- Persuasion
- Presentation
- Simple negotiation
- Problem-solving
High School
- Sales psychology
- Personal branding
- Negotiation skills
- Value creation
University
- Enterprise sales
- Global negotiation
- Deal structuring
- Economic diplomacy
By graduation, we wouldn’t just have graduates. We’d have closers.
CERTIFICATES DON’T PAY RENT SKILLS DO
A pass rate is good. But a survival rate is better.
We don’t need a generation that can only pass exams. We need a generation that can:
- Sell themselves
- Sell their businesses
- Sell Zimbabwe
- Sell Africa
Because in the real world, no one asks for your Grade A. They ask: “What problem do you solve?”
FINAL WORD
Let’s celebrate ZIMSEC results yes. But let’s also be brave enough to admit:
Our curriculum needs an upgrade.
Teach maths. Teach science. Teach history.
But for the love of Africa…
TEACH SALES.
Because the future doesn’t belong to the most educated. It belongs to the best negotiators.
Let the debate begin.
If Zimbabwe is serious about preparing people for real life, then sales, negotiation, and execution skills can no longer be optional. We assist organisations, entrepreneurs, teams, and leaders with sales training, entrepreneurship coaching, and strategy formulation that focuses on real-world outcomes not certificates. If you want people who can sell ideas, close deals, and compete globally, let’s have a serious conversation. +263 77 961 9739 | +260 972 936 033
By The Chartered Vendor
