The ManicaPost
THE 2020 Grade Seven examination results were announced last week and most pupils and parents are seized with trying to secure Form One places.
Last year will go down in history as a year when learning was severely disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Almost half of the year was spent with both teachers and pupils idle as Covid-19 wreaked havoc.
Although some schools introduced e-learning, only a few privileged ones benefitted from this initiative. Most learners, especially from rural set-ups, could not access both online and radio lessons despite an improvement of the country’s bandwidth following the establishment of fibre links to several submarine cables via neighbouring countries.
The expansion of 3G and LTE-based mobile broadband services means that about 85 percent of the population has access to the internet, but this did not translate into pupils’ access to e-learning platforms.
This saw the pass rate going down to 37,11 percent from the 46,9 percent recorded in 2019. This translates to a decrease of 9,79 percent.
Statistics from the Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council (Zimsec) shows that the total number of candidates who sat for the 2020 Grade Seven examination was 327 559.
This figure is 1,35 percent higher than the 2019 entry of 323 207.
As the debate for the poor pass rate rages on, some are blaming the Government for not prioritising the education sector, while academics are saying the country is yet to fully recover from the massive brain drain of teachers, with temporary teachers failing to properly fit into the shoes of qualified teachers.
But the blame game will not help us out of this situation as solutions have to be proffered to ensure that the country does not lose its status of having the highest literate rate in Africa.
So far, everything is pointing to a situation where we will have Covid-19 in our midst for a long time to come. Common ground needs to be found so that our children are not the casualties of the pandemic in their studies.
Fortunately for the province, Manicaland has continued dominating the examination charts with excellent results at all levels of education.
The zero percent pass rate scourge is almost non-existent in most schools across the province.
It seems like educationists Mr Peter Muzawazi (now principal director in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education) and now Mr Edward Shumba (Manicaland provincial education director) managed to identify the performance gaps and introduced the Performance Lag Address Programme which has since been adopted nationally as a panacea to the slide in the quality of the country’s education.
In order to curb these deteriorating standards of education in all schools, every individual should contribute to the improvement of the education sector.
The name should stop the blame game and focus on improving the pass rates in national examinations. With so much time having been lost due to the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should consider marathon programs for all examination classes when schools eventually open.
This will assist the students who are not fast learners as they prepare for their final examinations.
In addition, teachers, parents and guardians know best their children’s weaknesses, hence they should reach a mutual agreement on best methods to build the pupils’ future.
Teachers are a source of inspiration, hence they should be motivated to work extra hard so that they eradicate the pupils’ poor performances.
When schools eventually open, teachers should follow timetables and attend all lessons without fail. They should be wholly committed to their job despite the economic hardships the country is going through.
School heads should also fully manage and assess the teaching staff to ensure better results.
On the other hand, parents should also come to the party by ensuring that their children spend their time productively.
Due to ongoing technological advancements, school children are spending most of their time on social media networks like WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Netflix and YouTube.
It is imperative for pupils to use the internet for research purposes, instead of dwelling on the afore-mentioned social networks.
It is therefore the parents and guardians’ duty to monitor their children’s internet usage and study habits. Considering that time at school is now limited, students should be encouraged to study at home.
Together, we can make a difference.
