The Sunday Mail
Zimbabwe has come far in terms of education development.
There was a time during the colonial era when the New Education Plan was crafted in 1966.
According to this racial policy, only 12.5 percent of all blacks completing primary education would be allowed to proceed to academic secondary school.
The other 37.5 percent would be admitted to F2 vocational secondary schools.
F2 schools were inspired by the colonial thinking that black education should not be academic but should simply be composed of a fair degree of some elements of vocational education to ensure the availability of a large pool of cheap labour.
In 1918, the Chief Native Commissioner actually advised that “the native should be trained not so much as a competitor with the white man in the business of life but as a useful auxiliary to help in the progress of the country”.
You may be wondering where the remaining 50 percent of students coming out of primary education would go.
Well, they were just left out without any provision of secondary education within the formal system.
The Compulsory Education Act of 1930 made education free and compulsory for white children, and the total opposite for blacks.
That it is why, at Independence, the blacks, despite being the majority, accounted for only 36 percent of all professionals, technical and related staff, and only 24 percent of managerial and administrative personnel.
That inspired the Government to make primary education free and compulsory in September 1980.
The racially-oriented F2 system was abolished and transformed into conventional schools.
Now Zimbabwe has developed to have the highest literacy rate in Africa.
We now have 6 000 primary schools, 2 500 secondary schools, 363 colleges, 14 universities, 42 vocational training centres and six youth training centres.
So, are we there yet?
The purpose of any education or training, in my view, is to result in decent employment or productive self-employment.
Section 14(2) of the Constitution calls for the State to “ensure that appropriate and adequate measures are undertaken to create employment for all Zimbabweans, especially women and youths.”
Yet, in our case, thousands of graduates are being churned out from universities, colleges and schools every year, yet failing to find jobs.
Youth unemployment is very high.
The effects, too, are manifesting through social ills such as drug abuse, rising sexually-transmitted diseases, you name it.
Between January and June, Harare registered 53 000 new sexually-transmitted diseases.
We also heard from Zimbabwe United Nations Association that 65 percent of Zimbabwe’s youths suffer from mental problems due to drug abuse and unemployment. The youths are just idle since they cannot find jobs or do something on their own.
An idle mind, they say, is the devil’s workshop. The above clearly justifies why we need a curriculum review that ensures school graduates can get jobs.
This is why I welcomed the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education’s move last week to kick-start consultations to guide the review.
Sections 19 (d) and 20 (a) of the Constitution require the State to ensure children and youths “have access to appropriate education and training”.
The keyword here is “appropriate”.
Partly, l interpret it as that it should result in employment.
A curriculum system that leads graduates into not getting jobs or being capable to do something on their own is, therefore, futile and does not support economic growth.
Unfortunately, such is the status quo.
The curriculum review also comes at a time when Ordinary and Advanced Level students recorded the worst results in a decade. Most of high school drop-outs or those who fail secondary education have limited choices, as there is no adequate vocational training for them.
The curriculum review must also pay particular attention to this important issue.
It has also been emphasised in Section 24 (c) of the Constitution which calls for the creation of “vocational and training programmes”.
We cannot expect all of us to excel academically. What we also realise is that many students are being trained in order to take up jobs in the formal sector which is shrinking. Companies are closing down regularly and capacity utilisation in manufacturing has been perennially falling.
Some are being trained so that they can be employed in Government, which has been freezing recruitment since July 2012, and nobody knows when the freeze will be thawed.
This is a perfect recipe for unemployment, with youths bearing the brunt.
The review should, therefore, develop skills programmes that allow graduates from any academic level to be able to thrive in the informal sector, which typifies the new economic architecture.
That the current curriculum is not compatible to the informal sector or for self-income-generating projects has been proven by the Youth Development Fund.
The majority of the youths who accessed the loan failed to pay back, a clear indication of projects failure, resulting in a very high loan-to-default ratio of not less than 70 percent. The new review should also seriously look at essential skills that Zimbabwe needs, but whose training is not offered in the country.
I can hasten to talk about audiology, whereby the entire country only has five audiologists. One is in Government and the remainder work in the private sector.
There is no training for this important programme in Zimbabwe.
Audiologists are needed in the diagnosis of ailments affecting deaf people.
More skills are also still in limited supply, I can quickly mention pathologists.
It is, therefore, important for the curriculum review to transcend right up to tertiary education.
Since the Nziramasanga Report will anchor this review, we cannot deny that it will focus on bringing life skills and more practical subjects from primary to secondary education. New literature will have to be prepared and published, new infrastructure such as workshops and materials, and additional teachers will have to be trained. All that will require significant budgetary support.
That commitment has to be reflected on Thursday, when Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa presents the 2015 National Budget.
Otherwise, without resources, the curriculum review remains a noble exercise in principle, with nothing tangible being implemented. There is need for a dedicated fund that will bankroll this exercise on an on-going basis.
It can be funded by a marginal increase in excise duty on alcohol and tobacco (I am sure alcohol manufacturers won’t feel the pinch since they have been reducing prices); a marginal increase in fuel levy (oil prices have fallen from US$110 per barrel in the first half to US$80 and they are forecast to average $83 next year) and resources mobilised from development partners and other donations.
Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo is on record saying: “This country has a lot of young people who deserve to be given their chance.”
It is hoped that the curriculum review will enhance those chances.
We definitely need an appropriate, effective, efficient, competitive, flexible and responsive education curriculum.
