STEM excites pupils:
Education is a venture with obvious interests; one cannot have education which is neutral, a renowned Zimbabwean educationist has noted.
ACCORDING to Dr Peter Kwaira, as long as there is talk of education, it’s about a specific vehicle which is used for certain interests such as national development. He further notes that without that in mind, everything would be about grappling in the dark and nothing tangible would be achieved.
Government’s decision to offer free education to pupils registering for science subjects at Advanced Level has pushed pupils towards that area.
This is reflected in the performance analysis of the November 2016 Ordinary Level Zimsec examination results.
The analysis indicates that there was an increase of 2,10 percent in the number of pupils who excelled in science-related subjects in 2016 compared to the previous year.
These improvements are in line with Government’s thrust in promoting the learning of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.
The results however, also show a notable improvement in pass rates in areas such as Sociology, History and Tonga.
Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe chief executive Mr Manuel Nyawo said the increase in pass rates for science subjects was a reflection on Government’s STEM programme.
“I believe Government is trying to encourage students to do more science-oriented subjects, which is a welcome initiative as the curriculum review gave special prominence and attention to STEM.
“From an educational perspective, if this move isn’t a temporary measure, it will provide relief to most parents struggling with school fees.
“Already, education is becoming extremely expensive in the country and sciences are more expensive hence this will be advantageous to the nation in future.”
Mr Nyawo said there was need to invest in what is relevant for Zimbabwe.
“I think the importance of science subjects is derived from local issues at hand which include Zim-Asset and the 10-Point Plan which can only be spearheaded through STEM,” he said.
Dr Kwaira noted that public examinations results started improving in 2009 when resources were mobilised to re-equip schools with textbooks and other learning materials.
“Pupils from that period are the ones graduating in recent years and had the opportunity of a good solid foundation which carried them through,” he said.
The educationist said the current economic situation was creating a competition among pupils who wanted to make it because of limited employment opportunities.
“Competition is very high and pupils push themselves to achieve above average results.
“There is a lot of competition out there and you just need to be in the top to have an advantage over the others,” he said.
Dr Kwaira said dedication, level headedness and having supportive friends and family motivated pupils to do well.
He said the general improvement in the quality of results was due to availability of textbooks and learning systems at schools.
“Any rise or fall in candidate performance should be attributable to teaching and learning processes in schools.
“There was a one-to-one textbook-pupil ratio and these resources were used from Form 1 up to Form 4.
“The group of learners who used these books from Form 1 to Form 4 was those who wrote examinations in 2015.”
Generally, the performance of the November 2016 candidates was commendable in most subjects, Dr Kwaira said.
“Reasons for this performance may vary from subject to subject and may only be substantiated by empirical research to confirm the trend in the pass rates.
“An important point to take note of is that grading standards have been maintained throughout the years.
“The standards have been benchmarked to previous ones and maintained in all subjects.”
Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association secretary-general Mr John Mlilo said qualified and dedicated teachers also contributed to the improved pass rates.
“Teachers are improving themselves academically and several hold doctorates which have improved the quality of education in schools,” said Mr Mlilo.
He also heaped praises on parents who are engaging in home schooling of their children to complement the schools system.
“The issue of having qualified teachers in secondary schools cannot be ignored as a contributing factor to improved learner performance,” he said.
Mr Mlilo said while it would not be easy to pin-point the real reasons for the exceptional results without a proper study, more resources would help improve pass rates.
“Standards should not drop and resources should be increased,” he said.
Zimsec board chairperson Levy Nyagura said pupils should be given an enabling environment in order for them to excel.
The University of Zimbabwe vice-chancellor said of special interest was pupils with disabilities, whose pass rates were still low.
“We need to pay extra attention to pupils with disabilities as we are not doing well in that regard.
“In the coming intake, the UZ has only enrolled 148 disabled students out of 16 500 others.
“This shows that as society, we really need to create that enabling environment for these pupils,” Prof Nyagura said.
Veteran educationist Dr Caiphas Nziramasanga says Zimbabwe’s education standards were highly reputed globally due to a learning culture that enables willing pupils to excel academically.
Dr Nziramasanga, who is best-known for heading a commission mandated to inquire into the education system and had a huge input in the current school curriculum, said students who develop an appetite to read will achieve academic excellence.
He pointed out, though, that Government needs to promote skills development to match the high literacy rate.
“What happens in Zimbabwe is a phenomenon. Despite the environment in which the pupil is learning, the quest for knowledge by Zimbabweans results in the high literacy rate.
“Once learners develop a reading nature, they perform better. Some students have a high intelligence quotient; some are naturally talented while others have gained the practice from their families.
“Whichever the case, a lot of hard work put in by the students is being seen.”
Mr Maxwell Rafomoyo, another educationist, expressed concern about Zimbabwe blowing its own trumpet over the literacy rate.
“We need to move away from literacy to focusing on skills.
“To continue priding (ourselves) on literacy while it’s not changing people’s lives defeats the whole purpose of our intelligence.”
Zimbabwe has the highest literacy rate in Africa at 91 percent with Tunisia following at 87 percent, according to the United Nations Development Programme.
The UNDP defines the literacy rate as the percentage of a country’s population aged 15 and above who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life.
Zimbabwe owes much of its academic
success to a deliberate education policy that President Mugabe’s Government adopted at Independence in 1980 to open access to all.
Under the “Education for All” policy, learning was spread countrywide following massive school construction and teacher training programmes.
The Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council administers all public primary and secondary school exams, though Cambridge is offered for those who want to pursue that option.
Male candidates outperformed their female counterparts, unlike in Advanced Level where girls performed better than boys in last year’s examinations.
Male candidates scored a 30,39 percent pass while their female counterparts scored 25,66 percent.
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