Pupil absenteeism causing low pass rate`

THE tendency by pupils to miss classes is one of the reasons Ndola is recording poor examination results, says Masala Secondary School Head Teacher Selvas Zulu .

Mr Zulu noted that in as much as teachers were working so hard to improve performance some pupils were missing classes a lot.

Speaking during a meeting with the District Commissioner and other Heat Teachers at Kanini Secondary School Mrs Zulu said at Masala, both teachers and pupils were being tracked in an effort to improve academic performance.

He said that each class consisted of a period register which kept track of pupils` attendance the period registers, he said, had recorded a good number of absenteeism by the pupils which was affecting their academic performance.

Mr Zulu said that there was need for the parents to come on board and work with the teachers in finding a solution to the problem.

He noted that a lot would be achieved if parents and teachers worked together on various projects in schools.

Meanwhile, District Education Board Secretary Terry Changwe said a number of educational reforms were being undertaken.

Mr Changwe said one of the reforms was the specialisation of subjects in teaching where teachers would not have to teach all subjects.

He added that the idea behind the reforms was to enhance education in various schools.

He said his office was closely monitoring teacher tracking, where teachers had to account for the pss rate of the learners.