Chronicle EditorThandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Senior Reporter
PUBLIC Examinations preparations are going on very well and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is confident that the continuous assessment learning activities (CALA) will yield more positive results for the examination classes.
Grade Seven examinations are starting at the end of next month while Ordinary and Advanced Level exams will start mid-December overlapping into 2022.
This year schools were supposed to open in early January for the First Term but ended up opening in March due to the threat caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Schools then closed on June 4 and were set to open on June 28 but the re-opening was postponed due to a spike in Covid-19 cases.
The pupils eventually resumed classes on August 30 for examination classes and September 6 for the rest of the classes.
Due to the pandemic, school holidays have been prolonged, leaving learners with limited time to have face-to-face lessons.
Schools have as a result been relying more on virtual lessons and radio lessons which some learners have failed to access.
The Ministry then introduced catch up strategies to bring learners up to date.
The strategies include blended learning whereby teachers can combine some topics and also target certain key topics in order to compress the syllabus and online learning.
In an interview, Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister Edgar Moyo said preparations were at an advanced stage and teachers were working hard to ensure that learners catch up and prepare for the forthcoming examinations.
“I am happy to say that despite negative comments, we continue teaching and preparing our learners for exams despite disruptions we suffered due to Covid-19. So far, I can say these preparations are at an advanced stage, thanks to our dedicated teachers who are working flat out to ensure that our learners catch up and are ready for the public examinations,” said Deputy Minister Moyo.
He said learners were also excited about the CALA which has a potential to breed entrepreneurs who will in turn revive the economy.
“I would also like to assure members of the public that we are doing our best to help our learners catch up despite the challenges. A majority of teachers have also shown interest in CALA so we are confident that the system will work and that our learners will pass their exams,” he said.
Deputy Minister Moyo said plans were also underway to vaccinate learners aged from 14 to 17 years following approval by Cabinet.
“We stand guided by the Ministry of Health and Child Care as they are responsible for the guidelines,
“From our end, we are compiling data on the number of eligible learners so that once everything is set, the vaccination programme can be rolled out,” he said. @thamamoe
Online Reporter