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Dr Matthew Mare Correspondent
An education system should serve the interests of its country and in the case of Zimbabwe, the Continuous Assessment Learning Activities (CALA), aptly answer to the national question.
CCC leader Nelson Chamisa does not understand that education in Zimbabwe needs more funding and not removal of CALA, because CALA is the future of the country.
At a recent rally Chamisa got excited and talked of removing CALA. What a sham?
Chamisa needs to understand that CALA brings innovation and creativity which is needed for national development anchored science and technology.
After all, CALA is not only used in Zimbabwe, many developed nations have used CALA and in our CALA was designed to meet the demands of education 5.0.
Politicians, like Chamisa must stop making irresponsible statements especially when children are preparing for public examinations.
Chamisa made a regrettable political commitment that, if he wins the Presidential election in his first 100 days in office he will remove the CALA. What crass!
Is this not political grandstanding? Children will not take CALA seriously hoping it will be removed.
Some political statements would trigger the anxiety to know where does the political elites’ children learn? Politics of ambiguity, you destroy other people’s lives and yet you have secured the life of your own children.
His son attended a private school where CALA is a key aspect. His child shuns, ZIMSEC for Cambridge hence he has immobilised himself against the policies that he is pushing.
How is the syllabus of former A schools designed since colonial period? It’s a CALA based syllabus that looks at identifying and nurturing a child’s talent.
The colonial government went on to design irrelevant syllabus that do not meet the modern trends and demands in the ever evolving world. No river consumes its own water, with the globalised world our education should be relevant.
A lot of people are failing to relocate to other jurisdictions because the degrees and diplomas which they hold is not needed or it does not fall under critical skill.
We can only imagine a situation where a three-month certificate becomes more relevant and critical skill than a PhD.
This shows how the CALA issue is a welcome development that was long overdue. In fact, the Government owes this country an apology for delaying the Nziramasanga Commission’s recommendation to have implemented CALA in the 90s.
It is unfortunate that, CCC whose most of its key members are single, have their children in A schools have the agenda to drag back civilisation to dark ages.
This is an emotional issue, politicians hands off the issue of CALA, instead of supporting the educational systems mooted plans are to destroy it.
All universities have retooled their degree programme to education 5.0 and if the CALA is removed, then where are they going to be enrolled? There is hierarchy of educational system, primary, secondary and tertiary. If there is a single disjuncture in the system, the value chain is distorted.
These distortions have serious ramifications on the future of our children, whom we must not deprive because of political immaturity. Those parents who are complaining about CALA are graduates who can’t do grade 7 homework for their children.
This shows how irrelevant and dilapidated our education system had become before the CALA was introduced.
CALA empowers children in entrepreneurship, problem solving, critical thinking, innovative mindset and in talent spotting. The unemployment rate is high in Zimbabwe because the educational system was designed only for formal employment.
With economy becoming largely informal there is stiff competition for formal work resulting in many graduates now turning into informal sector. Graduate a till operator and airtime vendor, and people rush to blame the Government for unemployment.
In fact, the problem was with failure to have implemented CALA long back and created more entrepreneurs. Removing CALA means creating more unemployment an indication of deficit in strategic thinking.
Aristotle had made an important observation that, political leaders must be monks meaning that they not have families of their own.
This will make them have more empathy to the general situation than to look at their own situation as more important.
Before formulating a manifesto an important question must be asked, what if it was my child with limited possibilities in life just because the education system is offering “irrelevant” education that is no longer a priority in the modern world. Removing CALA then what? Is this not political naivety?
It is appreciable that parties design their manifestos to spell out their visions and aspirations. However, emphasis is placed on soundness of such aspirations. Outrageous and politicking with issues that affects people remain unacceptable.
In countries such as South Africa and the Western world, reckless statements, political lies, hate speech and reckless propaganda is a serious criminal offence.
This is the modern trends in the global politics having realised that some of these statements undermine the human security. Statements that triggers anxiety and despondence within the general populace must be criminalised.
To date, children are not taking holiday CALA lessons seriously because of political statement that undermine the future of CALAS.
At the core of any policy is confidence and the CCC manifesto kills that confidence among pupils and the society at large. Children do literal interpretation of public statements hence the need to guard against making ill-in political statements.
Online Reporter