adminMorris Mtisi
A LOT is going on right in the education sector in this country-that is in no doubt. But it is what is not going on right that is too much to ignore.Those who love this country and know what we are capable of doing are not numskull when they increasingly challenge the two Ministries of Education to change the direction which the educational wind is blowing. They are not nagging noisemakers who are fond of picking on policy. They are not attention seekers who enjoy being seen or heard for personal gratification.
“Are teachers performing?” That is the question. Answer it. “Are our teachers qualified to teach?” These are not useless echoes of a useless cry idly blowing in the wind. The end product of our education system, namely results, the fruit of our schools, colleges and universities, force serious –minded Zimbabweans to ask. If you listen carefully, these questions increasingly refusing to be suppressed cease to be ordinary questions. They become statements of anxiety emanating not only from what people see, but essentially what they are failing to see.
About two years ago on this platform, this writer bravely volunteered to give voice to parents who were demanding results in these schools. I argued that they (parents) had a right to demand results (not this 80% failure horror).
Parents sent their children to school to pass, nothing less, I said. They invest heavily in the education of their children and therefore deserved far better results, results reflecting value for their money. I went on to argue that it was Government’s right too, to demand results from those appointed to manage the education sector because it also invested heavily in the education of its people. Educating a people is a form of national development.
You will recall I even argued that undeniably the quality of any nation’s government is accurately measured by the education of the people who voted it into power.
Whatever your definition of education is, it is and has to be an objective, a measurement or goal based on results.
And the essence of results is seen not on a degree or piece of paper on which study accomplishment is recorded, but indeed in what the holder is able to do. That is the result.
That is what a sound education must do. Produce examination results that precisely measure the standard of ability and performance. If examination results do not translate into what you can do, and do skillfully or knowledgeably, they are good for nothing. People want to ask about what you can do with that degree, that diploma, that certificate.
What has what you learnt enabled you to competently do? The value, its meaning, its function and worthiness! That is the result which matters. And the country’s education is measured against that result. When broad-minded people talk about results –based performance, they are talking about this kind of result, not pieces of paper issued by examination boards.
It is therefore very sensible to say a degree or diploma is not a result, but a claim. The result is what you can do, your performance. Most of these ‘accomplishments’ nowadays loudly speak of what their holders cannot do. Indeed sad days for Zimbabwean education.
Does our education system deliver the results? Does it deliver efficacy; ability to bring about desired results in the context of growth in ability in whatever field of specialization? Teachers may, and they do, graduate en-masse and model academic gowns and caps of knowledge of various shapes, sizes and colours, throw parties celebrating achievement, but if they cannot teach students who pass, they are and remain a developmental liability. This language is being polite. That is why the Post Correspondent asked, “Are they qualified?” And he is not the only one!
So long as national figures continue to register between 20% and 25% pass rate nationwide and 80% fail examinations, people will continue to ask questions. You cannot blame them.
But the crop of school children too is an important factor.
Where did that instinctive intellectual DNA which enabled detainees languishing in Ian Smith’s notorious jails to study and acquire degrees and diplomas go? Where did it go? The deep and profound hunger and thirst for education which a few decades ago made barefooted children of Zimbabwean peasants erode miles of dust footpaths everyday to and from school! And made it! The fighting spirit naturally imbedded in Zimbabweans to drive away poverty and ignorance!
Is it still there in our children?
The unbreakable spirit is no more. There in no more lust for education in our children today. They have carnal lust in abundance. They have become delinquents and sex maniacs addicted to mbanje, the deadly abused ‘bronco’, pornographic dancehall gyrating and useless swag. They will not read anything that has nothing to do with sex.
But when people ask, ‘Are our teachers qualified to teach?’ can we blame them (those who ask?). Not at all! We must blame those who do not answer.
When the notorious kombis go on an unprecedented road carnage, simple minds question the competence of the drivers, not the kombi owners who set ridiculous daily targets, who do not service their vehicles, the road conditions and even the passengers who do not mind using coffins-on-wheels and keep quiet when the unlicensed driver is driving and talking to a girl-friend on mobile phone and literally flying on the road instead of driving. Can we blame those who blame the drivers? Certainly not entirely!
People often question the one who is hands-on, in our talking point the teacher who is not competent. That is normal. And they are right, only partly. The truth is that teachers are not the only flies in this ointment. Teachers are only a component on the educational machine. But the truth is if teachers are incompetent which is regrettably generally true, there must be many more pieces of dead wood lying on the way, for teachers are only a part of a broader system.
Thank you for your questions and comments. Keep them rolling in. Don’t miss the final discussion attempting to answer, “Are our teachers qualified to teach or not?”next week. Thereafter I will respond and answer your questions…diligently.
Online Reporter