Online Reporter
TADIWANASHE Mavetera shocked the nation when he scored 50 points at Advanced Level in 2023.
After acing 10 subjects, the former Ruya Adventist High School in Mt Darwin, Mashonaland Central Province, got a place at the university of his dreams, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. He is studying Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
Everyone celebrated his genius, but that success touched off a national debate on the number of subjects one must ideally take at A-level. Three subjects are good enough, but the trend these days is kids taking an average of four.
Keen to beat Tadiwanashe and set a record, Mukudzei Ziveyi studied 12 subjects at that level at Pamushana High School in Bikita, Masvingo Province, and scored a massive 56 points this year.
The 2023 debate is back on.
We are celebrating with Mukudzei as we did with Tadiwanashe, happy that they set the bar for academic excellence.
Indeed, we admire healthy competition. Yes, someone who attains three Es at A-level is officially regarded as having passed, but in reality, the quality of passes matters. It sets you apart, it asserts your genius more resoundingly, for a kid with three points at A-level cannot get a place to study the heavier, more prestigious law or medicine degrees at any local university, let alone get as much public support as
Tadiwanashe did to land him a place at MIT on a scholarship.
So, a pass is a pass, that’s correct, but the quality of the pass matters.
However, we agree with observers who are again questioning the rationale of one studying five, six, seven and more A-level subjects when three are the ones that are considered for one to secure a place to study at university.
Authorities have stepped in to cap the number of A-level subjects one can do at three and nine at Ordinary Level.
“To ensure depth of learning, quality of instruction and the integrity of learner outcomes, the ministry has instituted a cap on the number of examinable subjects. The standard is a maximum of nine subjects at Ordinary Level and three principal subjects at Advanced Level in the Heritage-Based Curriculum,” said Director of Communication and Advocacy in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Mr Taungana Ndoro.
The new policy, he added, seeks to promote focused and in-depth mastery of core learning areas rather than the accumulation of numerous subjects. It limits the risk of learner burnout as well.
“This decisive move aims to promote profound understanding and competency, prevent excessive academic overload and align all schools and learners with a standardised, manageable curriculum framework,” he said.
This is a good policy move, which we hope will be strictly enforced, especially at the school level.
In addition to the justifications that Mr Ndoro gave, limiting the number of examinable subjects cuts unnecessary costs in examination fees. It limits unnecessary competition as well.
Londile Moyo
Education is a knowledge tool and examinations aren’t the tonic for ensuring a successful career or life in general. While exams have been used as a measure for understanding lectures, they stop being for this purpose when they become a competition reward. I don’t believe the Mavetera boy who ended up studying at MIT managed to secure the scholarship because he had scored 50 points. He got the scholarship because she scored 15 points in the subjects that mattered to enrol for Electrical and Electronic Engineering. The other 35 points were a waste of time and other resources. Exams are an event that does not necessarily determine the established intelligence of an individual. One could be lucky to have encountered easy exams or could have studied until one dropped dead. What is important is to learn to acquire knowledge and not necessarily to pass. Einstein never had formal education and never wrote an exam.