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Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Chronicle Reporter
GOVERNMENT will conduct an assessment on the preparedness of learners whose outcome will inform deliberations on specific dates for this year’s public examinations.
Following the reopening of schools for examination classes last week and non-exam classes yesterday, there has been general anxiety as to when examinations will be written, especially considering that the term ends on 17 December 2021.
Although the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) has expressed readiness to roll out examinations in November, teachers’ unions are advocating for a postponement to next year.
They argued that learners are not well prepared as they lost learning time during the prolonged Covid-19 lockdown period, which chewed out the second term.
While some schools have been conducting virtual lessons and radio lessons, there have been concerns that some learners mainly those in rural areas have technology access issues and are not benefiting from the intervention.
Speaking yesterday during the launch of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Toll Free line, parents expressed concern that pupils might not be prepared to sit for examinations as they have limited learning time.
Responding to the concerns later in an interview, Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister Edgar Moyo said catch-up strategies were being put in place to cover lost ground.
“One of the concerns raised by parents was on the preparedness of the children for exams. At the moment I can’t say anything definite about the exam calendar but as the term continues, we will be assessing preparedness of learners and we will be getting updates on the progress being made in schools and then the ministry will make an informed decision, which will be in the best interest of learners,” said the Deputy Minister.
“We have launched a toll-free line 317, which is a platform for stakeholders to get in touch will the ministry. We tested the toll-free line during the launch and we received calls from parents who were airing out their concerns.”
He admitted that some pupils were behind as they could not access radio lessons and online lessons but assured parents that remedial measures were being implemented.
“We have introduced catch up strategies to bring learners up to date. These include clinical remediation where a teacher has to identify gaps for each learner and come up with strategies to address them,” said Moyo.
“We also have blended learning where teachers can combine some topics and also target certain key topics in order to compress the syllabus.
“We also have online learning where pupils can continue to learn even when they are outside school.”
The Deputy Minister urged parents to collaborate with schools and assist as the catch-up strategies were broad and could have more impact if various players were involved. Measures are also in place to ensure lessons reach all learners in remote parts of the country who could not access radio lessons through means such as recording on flash sticks for distribution while study guides were being distributed to schools.
Speaking to Zimpapers Television Network (ZTN) Zimsec spokesperson, Ms Nicky Dlamini, said they were awaiting communication from the Government regarding dates.
“We are on track, once the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education gives us direction, we will be able to then announce exam dates,” she said.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president, Dr Takavafira Zhou said exams can only be written next year.
“We need three months of uninterrupted time of learning in order to cover the time lost through lockdown,” he said.
“If you put that it means there is no way that examinations can be written in 2021. The only possible way is to write exams around mid-January to February next year.”
Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta), Mr Richard Gundane, said exams could only be written when teachers had completed each syllabus.
“We are very worried if learners have to be short-changed and they are required to sit down for examinations before completing their syllabi,” he said.
“This isn’t a normal term as it goes up to 80 something days. This is a crisis and new things have to be done but what remains as a standard to guide us is that adequate preparation has to be done before learners sit for examinations.”
The toll-free line is meant to connect various stakeholders with the ministry while developing a referral system to link stakeholders to other ministries for specific concerns. The toll-free line 317 was introduced courtesy of the Higher Life Foundation and will be open to members of the public through Econet lines. — @DubeMatutu.
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