adminSukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
AUTHORITIES in Mangwe and Bulilima Districts have appealed to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to come up with incentives for Science and Mathematics teachers based in rural schools. Speaking on separate occasions, the Member of the National Assembly for Mangwe, Cde Obedingwa Mguni and chief executive officer for Bulilima Mr John Brown Ncube said the introduction of incentives in rural schools for Science and Mathematics teachers would go a long way in improving the pass rate of the subjects.
In an interview, Cde Mguni said secondary schools in the district were failing to produce students who could given scholarships or be enrolled at local universities and colleges because they would not be having Mathematics and Science at Ordinary level.
Cde Mguni said the district was failing to produce students for the Presidential Scholarship.
“We are failing to do so because most pupils produced by our schools do not have Mathematics and Science subjects.
“The reason behind this is either most schools do not have laboratories or they do not have teachers that specialised in Science subjects which eventually affect the performance of pupils,” he said.
Cde Mguni urged education officials to works towards ensuring all pupils had access to Science subjects.
“Only two schools are performing well in Science subjects in Mangwe and these are Embakwe and Empandeni.
“Most of the pupils that are enrolled in these schools are not even from the district. There is a need for the education officers to ensure that more and more schools are capacitated to produce pupils that are empowered scientifically,” he said.
Empandeni Mission Girls’ High and Embakwe Boy’s High are Catholic run boarding schools.
Embakwe High was recently awarded for best performance in Advanced level Sciences and also for best Ordinary level results in Sciences after posting 23As, 34Bs and 45Cs in Integrated Science, Mathematics, Additional Mathematics, Biology and Physical Science.
In a statement, Mr Ncube said only three secondary schools were offering Science subjects in the district.
“We have 18 secondary schools within the district and only three schools offer sciences and these are Solusi, Thekwane and Usher High. There is a huge gap between pupils learning in these three schools and those in the remaining schools which has to be bridged immediately,” he said.
“Science is the backbone of a modern society and we cannot afford to have a single school remaining behind. Therefore education authorities are urged to consider incentives to woo Science teachers.”
Solusi, Thekwane and Usher are boarding schools.
Online Reporter