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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Correspondent
Poor pass rates of pupils from Matabeleland region is not a reflection of their intellectual capacity but a projection of underlying socio-economic problems affecting the region, a latest report has revealed.
Schools from Matabeleland South and North have come under the spotlight for poor results with some of them recording zero pass rates in public examinations.
A report released by Matabeleland Development Initiative (MDI) last month blames the poor pass rates on poverty, history and deployment of teachers who do not understand local languages.
The report was compiled following an inclusive educational consultation meeting/indaba under the theme: Towards an inclusive, equitable and quality education for economic empowerment and growth.
MDI said the poor 2017 Ordinary Level and Advanced Level results were not a true reflection of the capacity of the pupils in the region.
It said it will be unjust to analyse pupils’ educational performance without understanding environmental factors contributing to poor pass rates.
“The regional socio-economic challenges are indeed a reflection of the performance of the national and global economy which has impacted negatively on the pupils performance. This indaba identified poverty as the biggest contributor to the educational crisis in the region,” reads MDI report.
The report said unless the region undertakes a policy and institutional commitment to deal with the acute levels of poverty, the right to education will never be fully realised.
“Poverty has a bearing on the number of children who attend and complete primary, secondary and tertiary education in the region.”
The report said Matabeleland region suffered under development due to post independence political disturbances.
It stated that as a result of the political conflict, schools in the region were deprived of infrastructural development.
It said the region did not benefit from the Zimbabwe Conference for Reconstruction and Development (ZIMCORD) between 1980- 1990.
“The post-independence political upheavals had unprecedented effects in the development of the region. The conflict affected human and physical infrastructure in schools primarily. While there was some investment in education in other regions for example building of schools, particularly A’ Level Schools, Matabeleland was in turmoil,” it said.
“Today the region has few A- level schools offering mathematics and science subjects. Consequently, most students who enrol into local tertiary education institutions are from other regions.”
The report said disregard of multiplicity of languages in the region in deployment of teachers, has also contributed to poor pass rates.—@nqotshili
derick.khumalo