Finding a cure
Finding a cure to the condition of academic underachievement that continues to plague our public education system requires concerted efforts. Government, in collaboration with the European Union, demonstrated political will to crack the problem when huge investments were made in the production and development of the Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan (ETSSP) in 2014. ETSSP is designed for purposes of addressing the education pillars of access, quality and accountability. It is also intended to improve governance and the rigour of classroom instruction for improved student outcomes.
However, there is still a long way towards the realisation of ETSSP. Public secondary schools continue to churn out a large proportion of ‘graduates’ unable to satisfy the requirements for progression to senior secondary education or tertiary. Nonetheless, it is refreshing to note that the private sector is stepping up efforts to fill the vacuum.
Under-achievement in public schools has given birth to the mushroom development of private tutorial centres. Tutors are extending a lifeline to students who have been ejected by the public education system. Though the private education services cost a fortune, it attracts a lot of patrons. A good number of parents (regardless of socio-economic background) are exploiting the dispensation to give their children a second chance. The contribution of the private sector in the country’s human resource development cannot be overemphasised.
CRACK IT is one of the many tutorial centres making a note worthy contribution towards changing the academic trajectory of learners who were otherwise deemed ‘unteachable’. I have had the opportunity to attend the Phikwe branch of CRACK IT road show showcasing its success story. It was quite moving to see students who had failed in the public system brandishing top-notch grades. The pleasantly surprising turnaround has everything to do with the approach of total focus on classroom instruction. The students’ success at private tutorial centres should serve as an inspiration to students and teachers working in public schools.
The myth that students fail because they are unteachable does not seem to hold water and public schools should exchange notes with the private sector to enhance learning. Stories of success in tutorial centres suggest that all learners have great potential and when subjected to quality instruction and support can produce good outcomes.
Prioritising classroom instruction seems to be the magic key that can unlock the potential of students. Granted, public schools are saddled with too many issues competing for attention, but a paradigm shift focusing on instruction can make a difference.
Nothing should assume precedence over classroom issues. It should be noted that uninspiring and unchallenging instructional delivery is one big condition plaguing many public schools. School leaders and regional inspectors should make frequent visits to classrooms to interrogate classroom practices in order to close instructional gaps. Special emphasis must be placed on the triangular relationship between the teacher, student and content.
Classroom observations should not be conducted as a merely compliance exercise. The object of observing lessons is to ensure that harmony at all times prevails between the three vital pillars in the classroom.
In their book, Strategy in Action, Rachel E. Curtis and Elizabeth A. City observed that “without interactions (between content, teacher and students) there is no learning.
We have been in many classrooms where the focus is on interactions between two of the three elements.
The teacher is teaching the content, not students (a condition that plagues many high school classrooms or the teacher is teaching students not content) a condition we mostly observed in a small high school, where the teachers and students were engaged in a dialogue and reflection with very little content.” The problem of instruction is real and must be addressed urgently.