The Sunday Mail
In-Depth Reporter
Recently, Government has introduced a host of changes to the education system, supposedly to restore sanity, but most people feel that the sharp policy shifts are disturbing the developments that were being realised in the sector.While critics concede that some of the alterations are useful, they also concur that their introduction has been too abrupt.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has increased primary education from seven to nine years after introducing Early Childhood Development A and B, banned extra-lessons, scrapped off teacher incentives and directed all schools to stop form one entrance tests.
The Government insists the changes are meant to bring order.
“We are going to make changes to ensure that the pass rate improves while also restoring order in the education sector,” Primary and Secondary Education Minister Lazarus Dokora said.
But will the policy shifts bring the desired sanity?
Basic education now 19 years
With the flourishing of illegal pre-school centres countrywide which were exposing infants to poor learning and hygienic conditions, the Government in moved in to restore sanity in 2009.
The ECD sought to remove children from the illegal centres and accommodate them in proper learning institutions. However, infants as young as four continued to enrol in pre-schools as their parents sought external care while they went to work.
Government, noticing this gap, went on to introduce ECD A to cater for the infants. The system seems to have been “formalised” and both ECD stages are now pre-requisites for grade one enrolment at most schools.
Experts say Zimbabwe’s learning system is now confining people more to education than work. An individual now has to commit 19 years to basic study — nine years in primary school, four years secondary education, two years in high school then usually four years in university.
Extra lessons
Another prominent policy shift by the Government has been the recent ban on extra lessons. The ministry argued that extra lessons had become prone to abuse by the teachers, a situation which had led many of them to shift focus from conventional to superfluous teaching.
The position by the Government is understandable, especially in an economy tightly shackled by liquidity constraints and where average parents are struggling to send their children to school.
Teachers, who take home between US$300 and US$550 per month, were charging between US$3 and US$10 to each student per week for extra lessons.
On average, a class has 40 students.
However, sceptics say imposing a blanket ban on extra lessons to force teachers to provide uniform service is like throwing away the baby together with the bath water.
They note that conventional and extra lessons have always co-existed.
For the last two decades, the country’s O-Level pass rate has stood at an average 14 percent. Therefore striking down the extra lessons is likely to see more pupils fail to attain five or more subjects – the pass rate benchmark.
Educationists say the advancement in technology is fast eroding the education system as pupils with access to mobile phone internet now spend most of their time on social networks at the expense of school work. The educationists argue that extra lessons become imperative to cover for the lost time.
Investigations show that despite banning extra lessons in schools, teachers were making private arrangements for these studies to be conducted in alternative places.
However, the Government maintains that education is a basic right and the country is determined to meet the Millennium Development Goal number 2 to achieve universal primary education.
The authorities say extra lessons led teachers to victimise and deny teaching to some pupils whose parents do not afford to pay. But some parents feel it is their obligation to do what is best for their children.
“We are in times where money determines various aspects of life,” said Mrs Patience Sunduza whose two primary school going children are enrolled at one of the group A schools in Harare.
“If you want to set the best foundation for your child, you need to invest in his or her education and paying to ensure your child succeeds in future should not be an option.”
However, some parents feel that the schools must stick to the traditional remedial lessons which are offered free to slow learning pupils after normal school teaching hours.
Banning of Form One entrance tests
Form One entrance tests have courted controversy over the last few years with both the Government and parents accusing schools of turning the initiative into a money-spinning venture. Some schools would charge at least US$20 for the entrance tests.
In some cases, more than 2 000 prospective students would turn up, but less than 100 would be enrolled.
Other schools would even conduct those tests twice. But following an outcry from parents, the Government directed all schools to halt the process.
“The policy position of the ministry is very clear. Schools are to enrol Form One pupils on the basis of their Grade Seven results. What is the purpose of Grade Seven examinations if they are not used for Form One entrance?” said the then acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Mr Rogers Sisimayi, on announcing the ban.
“Entrance tests had become a fundraising business . . . We are now following Government policy of the pro-poor agenda,” Mr Sisimayi said.
But the decision also appeared to be a war against teachers and schools rather than a move to protect learners and the education sector. Critics say entrance tests gave schools an advantage to asses and select students with a capability that matches their traditional standards.
Using entrance tests to enrol students also ensured that schools did not have to deal with too much pressure when Grade Seven results were released.
However, Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association president and Apex Council team leader Mr Richard Gundani said: “Most schools were setting their own standards which increased the cost of education. As a result, some pupils were failing to access quality education.”
Ban on teacher incentives
Most teachers were left demoralised after this ban. Incentives were introduced after 2009 as the country emerged from a hyperinflationary environment that had eroded the incomes of many employees, especially teachers.
However, in a bid to motivate the staff, parents were advised to give their children’s teachers some ‘‘token of appreciation’’ in cash or kind.
The Government later moved in to stop the practice advising parents to channel resources to teachers through school development committees.
The decision saw teachers receive between $150 and $400 incentives depending on the schools, plus a monthly salary of about $300 from the Government. Some teachers, especially those working in the rural areas, received incentives in the form of maize and other basic foodstuffs.
According to legal experts, incentives are a form of extortion as parents and guardians are forced to pay to avoid their children’s victimisation.
Remuneration of teachers critical
Teacher representatives say the rapid policy changes in the education sector are being triggered by the realisation that, if left alone, education will become expensive.
They say the initiatives are a result of a poorly paid teacher who devises means to ensure he or she gets a fair income to survive in a country where the Poverty Datum Line hovers slightly above US$500.
As such, the lasting solution in bringing back sanity to the country’s education sector would be offering teachers a sustainable pay increase.
