Chronicle EditorTHE country’s education system is continuously improving as the Government, the private sector, churches and parents and guardians invest in this key sector.
A healthy number of kids are in school — nine out of 10 of primary school age are attending school. There are more than 5 million children in primary and secondary schools, the bulk at public institutions. About 70 percent of the pupils are enrolled at rural schools.
It is pleasing that the enrolment is high at nine out of 10 kids who must be at school being at school. We are at almost 100 percent.
As we report elsewhere today, there are 6 761 public schools catering to early childhood development, 6 798 primary schools, and 2 980 secondary schools. Approximately 78,41 percent are under Government administration, while the rest are managed by non-governmental entities.
We applaud parents and guardians for ensuring that their children and or charges get this basic human right which opens windows for future personal, community and national development. As we celebrate the almost total coverage of primary and secondary education, we call on the remaining few kids, that one in 10 who must be in primary school but is not, to be where they must be.
While there are more than 5 million children at primary and secondary schools countrywide, there are 150 000 teachers. This works to a teacher-pupil ratio of 1:33.
Mr Taungana Ndoro, spokesperson for the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, feels there is a need for the Government to recruit more educators so that the ratio is lowered.
“We have over five million pupils in the country. Makoni District has the most schools in the country. We have around 150 000 teachers in the country. It means on average our teacher pupil ratio should be 1:35. Yes, we would be grateful to have more teachers to lower the average teacher pupil ratio,” he said.
We are sure that there is a good number of qualified teachers who are out there looking for jobs. The Government must intensify its provision of resources so that more teachers who are qualified, but aren’t on jobs for which they trained, to join the civil service.
This not only cuts the teacher-pupil ratio which Mr Ndoro feels is on the high side, but also improves the quality of delivery by the teachers. A teacher who handles a maximum of 30 kids is expected to concentrate much more effectively on his or her class, deliver more personalised work, more intimate work which takes every kid in that class on board.
Overall, this improves the quality of education, means a more comfortable workload for the educator and the children getting the sense that they really have a teacher assigned to them, a sense that a pupil in a class of 55 handled by one teacher is unlikely to have.
Online Reporter