Second term most crucial for learners

SCHOOLS will be opening for the second term next week, and this is the most crucial one in the education calendar for learners, especially the examination classes.

Following the recent approval by Cabinet of the Heritage-Based Education 2024 to 2030 curriculum, gone are the days when schooling meant just learning the events given in a history chapter or solving tough Mathematical problems or reciting poems.

The new curriculum is expected to transform the education system to produce citizens with relevant skills aligned to national development.

With the new thrust, education has become the first stepping stone in the life of a child, wherein he or she learns a lot more than just rote learning.

Developing hobbies, refining them, learning basic etiquettes, getting skilled at multi-tasking, developing social skills are some of the many things that the new curriculum framework equips learners with.

While teachers have the most important role of moulding our children into future and responsible leaders, there is no doubt that the amount of support provided by parents for their children will have an effect on their academic success and progression.

Being armchair critics without one’s involvement in our children’s day-to-day activities will not help them, so parents should come to the party as it has been proven that children perform better in school when their parents are involved in their academic lives.

Some children’s performance in school is affected by lack of communication between the parent, learner and the school. As a result, parents should ensure that they communicate properly and coherently with their children, the school and anyone else involved in the upbringing of their children.

We know that we are going through trying economic times, but parents should not waste time haggling with responsible authorities over the payment of fees. There is always room for negotiations over fees payment plans, and this route should be fully exploited so that children should not lose valuable learning time over non-payment of fees.

The responsible authorities should not be hard nuts to crack as it is the future of the children at stake. They should accept all forms of payment and not to stick to the United States dollars payments only.

The responsible authorities should be empathetic. Empathy is such a powerful and comforting response as it lets the other person know that their feelings are being validated.

While it is common knowledge that 80 percent of transactions in the country are being done using the US dollars, schools should not close all doors on parents who want to transact in the recently introduced currency, Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG).

It is our national currency and should be supported by all stakeholders.

Government should be strict in enforcing all policies as there is now open defiance of directives and policies especially in the education sector.

At the beginning of the April school holiday, Government banned all holiday lessons, but schools openly defied this directive.

Threats were made, but no disciplinary action was taken on the defying schools and heads. This will result is many people dismissing the threats as empty ones and view the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education as a paper tiger as it will be business as usual in schools while parents continue suffering.

For learners, they should make hay while the sun is still shinning. They should play their part and not to waste time on mischief and drug abuse.

They should aim for the best and repay their parents’ sacrifices and huge investments in their education through passing with flying colours.

All learners should know that by working together, exchanging ideas and knowledge as well as combining their abilities they can achieve great results.

Education never is, nor should it ever be, an independent process — it always goes hand in hand with upbringing.

One of the most important functions of schools is shaping fine, well-mannered young people, whom it will help develop a proper value system and enable them to grow into persons of integrity.