The ManicaPost
Freedom Mutanda Education Correspondent
IT is that time of the year again where ‘O’ Level pupils fret over the impending examinations and wonder if they will make it. The third term heat adds on to the anxiety which leads, in some cases, to the hysteria that affects pupils in the third term.
Today, I want to look at ways of doing well in the ‘O’ Level History examination. First, what you learned from Grade One or probably ECD level about the Great Zimbabwe is correct and it is embedded in your subconscious and because of that, take a deep breath and summon everything that you learnt for success to come knocking on your door come 2018. There are 22 questions for Paper One and the candidate is required to respond to four of those. The 2167/1 component is the History of Southern Africa with special emphasis on Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa. It starts from the Late Stone Age to the Early Iron Age.
Candidates need to be reminded that questions are in three phases starting from the simple to the complex. Part A has questions such as-Identify any six tools used by Late Stone Age people or List crops grown by Early Iron Age people. These are recall questions which a good candidate must quickly answer before she goes to part B whose degree of difficulty is higher than the recall as it is descriptive.
Questions that fall into the descriptive class include: outline the social and political changes from the Late Stone Age to the Early Iron Age or describe the factors leading to the fall of the Great Zimbabwe State. Descriptive questions demand close attention to detail and not a cursory look at the question lest one may get a D because of avoidable mistakes by the candidates.
From Question Two to question Eight, the paper invites responses from questions set on the early iron agestates such as Great Zimbabwe, Mutapa, Rozvi, Ndebele, Gaza, Kololo and the Portuguese activities in the Zambezi. Interestingly, in our midst, we have Portuguese progenies who are called “Sinyoro’’ which is a corruption of Senor. Accordingly, let it be clear that a good understanding of the states of Southern and Central Africa will enable a candidate to have a minimum of two questions that s/he can answer before she has reached the half-way stage of the paper.
A question on the missionaries is always set and it is advisable for students to revise this aspect. This question looks at whether students appreciate the missionary dimension in as far as Christianity in this part of the world acted as a harbinger to colonialism. Having looked at the missionaries’ evangelising job, it is incumbent upon the student to look at the problems missionaries encountered when they wanted to be ‘’fishers of men.’’
Industrialisation in Europe was a prelude to the colonisation and scramble for Africa. We are analysing from the perspectives of Zimbabweans. With that in mind, the syllabus is clear that factors affecting industrialisation must be at your finger tips my dear reader. In some instances, the question asked relates to the discoveries made in the aftermath of industrialisation. It is from history that we learn how to harness our resources and become great again.
Industrialisation in Europe spread in Europe, but there are some negative spin offs from such as the workers’ plight in the face of massive violation of their rights. As pupils of History, it is important to look at that epoch of human history and compare and contrast with the inhumane acts of Hitler and Mussolini against their country- men.
From Question 10 to 16, questions are set on Zimbabwean History from 1870 up to 1990 and even beyond. Pupils need to have an intimate knowledge of the treaties that were signed from 1870 to 1888. Tati Concession, Baines Treaty, Grobler Treaty, Moffat Treaty, Rudd Concession and the Lippert Concession are the major ones and a candidate should easily explain the terms of those treaties.
However, it is important to note the trickery used by Cecil John Rhodes in order to make King Lobengula sign the Rudd Concession. An analytic question could be: to what extent did Lobengula fell prey to trickery in signing the Rudd Concession?
A candidate has to look at the aspects of trickery applied on the great king and look at the weaknesses or lack thereof which he exhibited. Some uncouth individuals say the whites ‘’bought’’ the king. How far do you agree with that assertion?
In a nutshell, by the time the candidate is on question 11, s/he would have had the four required to respond to. However, teachers do teach the topics for the candidate to be an all- round student of History who must not only pass the subject but should be able to appreciate the role of History in national development.
Current affairs knowledge is the hallmark of a good History student. The drafters of the 2167 syllabus were clever enough to apportion a question where a clever student will get an answer to if s/he is an avid reader of newspapers. The question can be found between 17 and 19. Here one may get questions such as: describe the security threats to Zimbabwe and how it dealt with them between 1980 and 1992.
How far successful was it in dealing with these threats? Again, it is noteworthy to jot some of the highlights of these security threats. For example, South Africa had a policy of destabilising Southern Africa through neo-liberal movements such as Renamo and its Security Services bombed ANC offices in both Bulawayo and Harare. By the time a candidate reaches question 22, I hope s/he will be just perusing the contents of the paper and not because s/he is failing to get the required number of questions s/he must respond to.
We have less than a month to write the examinations and we cannot afford to sit on our laurels as students. We ought to have study friends who would assist us in getting to grips with History. We give each other topics and formulate questions from part ‘’a’’ to ‘’c’’ and embark on robust discussions. I must assure you that History prepares you to be a sharp lawyer and the grooming you getting from interaction with your study friends is a life- long asset.
A word of caution on part ‘’c’’ though-a candidate must look at both sides of the coin and finally arrive at a conclusion. Let me give an example. To what extent did the international community make the freedom fighters in Zimbabwe succeed between 1972 and 1979? This question requires you to identify areas where the international community played a huge role in helping ZANLA and ZIPRA forces.
For example, the OAU Liberation Committee played its part by providing logistics to the freedom fighters. Communist countries such as China, Russia, Romania and Yugoslavia among others did a lot for the guerrillas.
Neighbouring countries such as Mozambique, Botswana and Zambia among others harboured the guerrillas who used the countries to get into Zimbabwe and galvanise the Africans to recapture their country from the imperialists. On the other hand, a wily candidate must not be carried away by the amount of information which support the international community. Indigenous people provided food, clothes, information and morale to the freedom fighters. Churches inside Zimbabwe and other civic groups played their part.
The guerrillas themselves fought bravely against a mighty military machine bent on perpetuating white supremacy. Depending on the way you have presented your points you reach a conclusion. Do not forget to mention the various diplomatic manoeuvres carried out without success over the years. Notably, the Lancaster House Conference is one of the pushes by the international community to solve the Crisis in Rhodesia according to the late Cde Nathan Shamuyarira.
Until next week, my dear pupils of History, please wait for handy tips for History Two commonly known as International Affairs.
- Buy your own copy of The Manica Post.
