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It is rather inexplicable that a school in Zimbabwe can get a zero percent pass rate in national examinations. Zero?
We brag of the highest literacy rate in Africa and we churn out many highly qualified teachers hence to have such statistics take all and sundry aback.
This revelation that there are some schools in Zimbabwe that record a zero percent pass rate is cause for concern and calls for both the Government and stakeholders to intervene and bring things to order.
Even the Government has expressed concern over the performance of some schools in national exams, amid indications that over 250 primary and secondary schools mostly satellite across the country recorded zero pass rates in the 2018 examinations.
A similar trend was noted in secondary schools where 194 schools had zero percent pass rate last year. Such depressed figures, which were mostly recorded in satellite schools, calls for immediate redress by both the Government and other stakeholders in the education sector to ensure that Zimbabwe maintains its literacy level of more than 90 percent in Africa.
We believe that the zero percent pass rate in some schools could be as a result of a coterie of challenges which include, but are not confined to infrastructural challenges, lack of learning and teaching materials, teaching skills and demotivated teaching personnel in satellite schools.
Of immediate concern would be the rehabilitation or construction of proper buildings at satellite schools that were set up at the beginning of the land reform programme to ensure that schoolchildren could not walk for long distances.
The majority of these satellites schools suffer from the scarcity of resources such as classroom blocks, furniture, learning and teaching material, textbooks and qualified teachers who shun the environment.
The few qualified teachers who remain behind often have to contend with poor staff accommodation, dilapidated infrastructure, poor transport links, higher workloads and poor remuneration, in addition to lack of teaching materials.
Such an environment where there are salary and remuneration disparities among teachers in the same ministry doing the same type of work and with similar qualifications naturally compromises the quality of work done as those working under difficult conditions are always demoralised.
Sadly, the zero percent pass rates, are some of the results that the parents get out of such a teacher. We, however, believe that, though dire, the situation in such schools is not yet beyond redress. Rehabilitation of satellite schools would be the first remedial step.
The Government cannot do it alone, and has on several occasions called out on the private sector to invest in educational infrastructure to improve the quality of education and skills development.
Already the Government has since indicated that it needs to build 20 000 primary education schools.
This is a huge project that needs a buy-in from the private sector, with several windows of investment opportunities that includes build, operate and transfer, build, operate, own and transfer arrangements and public-private sector partnerships.
Quick redress of the infrastructure would need to be tied in with training and incentivising the teaching staff as part of long term measures to improve results throughout.
The education ministry will quickly need to move and up skill its teaching personnel through on-service training to improve and update teacher’s skills following the introduction of the new curriculum.
In 2017, the Government adopted a new curriculum framework that is expected to run until 2022 and forms part of the implementation of the recommendations of the Nziramasanga Commission of Inquiry into Education and Training.
The new curriculum that is already running is based on five pillars, namely the legal and regulatory framework, teacher capacity and development, teacher professional standards and infrastructure development.
Its successful adoption and implementation will heavily hinge on successfully implementation by a skilled, prepared and well-resourced teaching personnel. In that regard, the Government could create social benefits for schoolteachers as a means to enhance and motivate them, in additional to their salaries.
Additionally, the employer could also put in place, opportunities for training and promotion, bonuses and good performance measures, that foster career development, while motivating the teaching staff.
Online Reporter
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