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THE much awaited Ordinary Level November 2013 examinations results are out and have left sour tastes in some and smiles on others.
The results have also given the nation some pointers on the state of the country’s education system.
According to statistics released by the Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council (Zimsec), the overall pass rate improved from the 18,4 percent in 2012 to 20,72 percent for last year.
The statistics also gave us any insight into how provinces perform in the academic contest.
Manicaland dominated with more schools from that part of the country in the top 10 and even when the bracket was widened to 100 schools it was still in the driving seat.
However, the same cannot be said of schools from Matabeleland region as only 10 made it into the top 100 with John Tallach of Ntabazinduna ranked fourth.
With such a scenario there is an outcry from parents in the three provinces of Matabeleland- Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South- with some attributing the poor performance to hidden agendas against them.
For many years people from Matabeleland have been quick to blame citizens from other parts of the country for any calamity befalling them.
They have pointed to marginalisation and discrimination on ethnic grounds by people from other regions.
Already there are some people who are saying the poor results were expected because schools in the region are poorly equipped.
While every community is entitled to its own opinion we feel people of Matabeleland need to be proactive.
Instead of sitting back, shifting blame to others and lamenting over poor examination results, positive action appears to be the missing link among our people.
Some complaints are off the mark because schools that performed well in Manicaland for instance, such as Monte Cassino, Christe Mambo and St Faith’s are run by the Roman Catholic Church while institutions from the same church in this part of the country such as Empandeni, Embakwe, Regina Mundi of Gwayi and Marist Brothers of Dete continue to play second fiddle.
So where is discrimination here?
The problem with Matabeleland schools from our point of view is leadership.
There is no supervision of teachers and headmasters by the district education officers.
Teachers are not accountable to anyone, period.
The other tragedy is lack of intervention by the local political leadership on issues affecting the education sector.
The education sector in Matabeleland is on auto-pilot.
It is against this background that we call upon the local communities to work closely with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to reverse the declining standard of education in the region.
Parents should be proactive and take keen interest in the education of their children and do everything within their means to support them.
They should not leave everything to the teachers and government.
In the globally competitive world we are living in, education is the foundation for development and the performance of our young people has a crucial bearing on the country’s future.
Online Reporter