admin“The system of allowing Grade Seven pupils to go to Form One without assessing them is disastrous. Pupils should not be allowed to proceed to a higher level without a mechanism to measure their preparedness for the examination. Some pupils sit for “O” Level examinations unprepared and that is killing our education system.”
Dr Ndlovu said the Government must come up with a policy position that would enable schools to effectively measure the performance of their pupils and ensure that they are ready for examinations.
He said such an initiative was closely tied to adequate financing of the education sector.
“I am an education evaluation specialist and I understand this. The responsible ministry must channel more resources to equip teachers and set up requisite infrastructure to enable them to evaluate the education process and the preparedness of pupils for examinations. This is the missing link in our education system,” said Dr Ndlovu.
“People should not discuss this issue for the sake of shifting blame to certain individuals. We need to ask what the Government has done. Do the schools have enough resources and so on? Right now some schools are overcrowded and do not have enough skilled manpower.
“This evaluation must be done subject by subject depending on the level of the pupils. Evaluation would show the capability of the child, the performance of the teacher and identify problems that need to be addressed.”
Dr Ndlovu bemoaned the effects of the brain drain, which saw thousands of Zimbabwean qualified teachers crossing the borders to neighbouring countries when the country was facing an economic crisis in the past few years.
He said the Government must look into the issue and map a strategy of luring back the skilled professionals.
The low “O” Level passes generated a lot of debate with different stakeholders seeking answers to the development.
The Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, David Coltart has defended the results, saying they were on the positive since he took over the education system at the formation of the inclusive Government in 2009.
He has, however, admitted that challenges such as lack of funding and shortage of qualified teachers was negatively affecting the learning process.
Online Reporter