adminNgqwele Dube Sunday News Correspondent
WITH the increase in the demand for education and educational material, some academic entrepreneurs have responded by coming up with study packs as well as revisiting and upgrading the previous versions to meet syllabus requirements, something that has been confirmed by authorities in the education sector to have increased the pass rate in schools.
Study packs have become a hit in the country as they provide the student requirements and are even more ideal for those that are studying at home on their own. The publishers of the study packs in Bulawayo — Turn Up Publishers said those schools that were making use of their study packs were realising excellent results.
Since the introduction of the study packs over a decade ago, the books have gradually become popular, among both teachers and pupils and with increasing demand the publishers felt it was the right time to come up with new versions.
The company publishes Ordinary and Advanced level study packs in several subjects and was officially launched in August 2010 by the then Deputy Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture who is now the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Dr Lazarus Dokora who gave the nod to schools to use the study packs.
Turn Up executive director Mr Sam Madzingira said they have already started printing new versions of the packs which they would be putting on sale starting this week. He said they had over the years been listening to concerns from users that include academics and students and had taken these into consideration in making changes.
Mr Madzingira said this term they would be releasing the revised Geography study packs while they were in the process of completing making changes to the other subjects although previous editions remain relevant. He said with more detailed content they have now increased the number of study packs in the subject (Geography) from two to three.
“There was a feeling that more content should be included while we increase the number of examination revision questions. We have initiated the process for our range of study packs that cover most of the subjects studied at A and O-level.
“We believe in continually meeting the demands of our consumers hence our efforts in embarking on the alterations. We have not only added content but the general look of the book has improved as we have replaced diagrams with real photographs. The study pack has simplified information and a question and answer section which makes it ideal for those students who are studying alone. We have also managed to penetrate the regional markets where the study packs are becoming very popular with Cambridge regional study centres in Botswana, South Africa and Namibia ,” he said.
The study packs have steadily gained popularity because of the simple language they are presented in as they present and demystify concepts breaking them down to easy-to-understand English. The books are designed to become “one stop centres” for students as they outline the curriculum before stating each chapter objectives and then providing revision examination questions at the end of each chapter.
“If you look at books like David Waugh in Geography you realise they are deep in content but sometimes the English written there needs to be interpreted to students because it is not level specific but can be used across various stages of education.
“The idea of revising at the end of the term closer to examinations, using past question papers wasn’t the best practice and when we introduced them at each chapter it made students easily grasp the concepts and know early what to expect in their final examinations. Teachers using the study packs have managed to benefit through the inclusion of the chapter objectives as it has given them clear focus of the end results to be obtained after each chapter,” said Mr Madzingira.
He said while they were established and started circulating in Bulawayo, they have spread to all the country’s 10 provinces and were also being used in neighbouring countries such as Botswana, South Africa and Namibia.
“They (books) have fared well in an environment of teacher shortages because they are simple to understand and as a revision tool most pupils find them excellent. While there was some initial resistance to the books, they have come to be accepted by many. We crafted these with various educational experts both currently practicing and some that have retired hence they are on-point,” said Mr Madzingira, who holds a Chartered Institute of Secretaries qualification and only entered the education sector as a way of supplementing his income.
Bulawayo provincial educational director Mr Dan Moyo confirmed Turn Up Publishers’ study packs had been submitted to and approved by the Curriculum Development Unit hence their acceptability as study material at schools.
“What happens with books is that they have to be submitted to the CDU who then put their seal of approval for use in schools and Turn Up completed that process. From my interactions with school heads and teachers they have told me they find the study material from Turn Up very useful,” he said.
After teaching accounts to A-level pupils Mr Madzingira also moved to economics but an increasing work-load saw him crafting his own “notes” that he would give pupils to read and later developed these notes into a fully fledged book.
“I am a qualified accountant and after opening my own small business, I decided to teach part time and that is where the study packs were developed. I needed to give the pupils work to do in my absence hence I simplified material allowing them to cover more ground even in my absence. Later I realised the need for such material in other subjects and I engaged experts to do research and compile the study packs for the other subjects,” he said.
Mr Madzingira has gone a step further and teamed up with other educationists to open a secondary school, Prestige High School in Cowdray Park as they seek to make further inroads into the education sector bringing in different methods of teaching.
He said enrolment at Prestige began last year and places were still available this term.
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