adminA comprehensive education curriculum is vital to the development of any nation. It sets the tone for the kind of citizenry that is being groomed, which translates to the kind of activities they will perform towards the progression of the State.
Lately at a press conference the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MOPSE), announced that it had set the maximum number of subjects to be studied at Ordinary Level at 10.
Of the 10 subjects, seven will be compulsory.
Students who wish to exceed the limit will only be allowed to take two more subjects.
This week, a circular for a new curriculum was distributed showing the new compulsory subjects to be taught in schools.
These include Agriculture, Physical Education, Mass Display, General Science, Mathematics, English, Heritage Studies and an Indigenous language.
In the previous curriculum there was no regulation limiting the number of subjects one could study.
Schools like Monte Casino, Midlands Christian College and Harare High School prided themselves in having students who could push their abilities by doing more than 12 O-Level subjects.
The latest development has not been well received by pupils.
Pride Marimburo, from a local school in Harare, disagreed with the regulation, saying he wants to study more than 12 subjects.
“I am in Form 3 and I want to do 15 subjects.
I find most of the subjects to be easy. I need something mentally challenging.
“I don’t understand why limitations must be placed on us when we are capable of sitting for all 15.
Other students have managed in the past so what is the rationale behind stopping us from advancing?” he said.
Other students interested in studying more than 12 regulated subjects, shared similar concerns saying they can manage the workload.
A pupil from Girls High School in Harare who preferred anonymity said despite being in a Science class, she enjoyed studying Humanities.
Her teachers had also made room for her, as she had laudable passes in her subjects.
“I enjoy studying Literature, Religious Studies and Art. It’s fun for me. I am in a Science class because that’s where l was put according to my results,” she said.
She is yet to decide on a career path and wants to keep a myriad options.
“I haven’t made up my mind on what I want to study for A-Level. That is why I am doing everything am good at.
“If they change the curriculum and I have to pick a field at O-Level then I am limited in what it is I can do. I don’t think that it is right for me to make a decision on specializing so early, especially when I am prone to changing my mind at any point,” she said
Mr Matsika, a father of two secondary school aged boys, was worried about the ministry’s priorities.
“Sometimes you tend to wonder what the rush is in implementing a new curriculum when some schools still lack teachers as well as infrastructure and the teacher to pupil ratio is not yet addressed,” he said.
“In any case, the Government does not have enough resources to overhaul the education sector at this supersonic speed. Why not do it in a steady and methodical way according to available resources?”
Stakeholders in local education have raised questions over the practicability of the new regulation.
Zimbabwe Council of Higher Education (Zimche) spokesperson Jonathan Gandari said students at O-Level usually do not have a full picture of the path they intend to pursue.
“Students do not yet know exactly what they would want to pursue in life. They are still ambitious and so setting limits for them would only result in an inadequate gathering of their base knowledge,” Gandari said.
He added that children should have the liberty to explore their aptitude.
“There should not be limits at that level as most of them are not decided. They should be encouraged to do what they want. O-Level subjects provide pupils with basic knowledge of what they can possibly study in future,” he said. – The Herald.
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