The Sunday Mail
Dr Lazarus Dokora
It is that time again when I have to thank our stakeholders for the sterling work they have done to propel our education to greater heights.
Indeed, it was a hectic year on our part as the Primary and Secondary Education Ministry following our recently-completed curriculum review.
As we wind down 2016, the majority of parents are making preparations for their children who will be in Form One next year.
This is a welcome development, and we really appreciate that parents have taken the responsibility of educating their children in a joint effort with the State.
As part of our effort to create the “Ease of Doing Business” in education in the Social Services Cluster under Zim-Asset, we have developed an electronic platform for those seeking Form One boarding places. This platform is called Electronic Ministry Application Platform.
Background to e-map
Over the years, the ministry has witnessed an influx of learners seeking Form One boarding places, with some of our secondary schools recording more than 3 000 applicants for only 120 or so spaces that are offered by the majority of our boarding schools, both Government and mission.
Unbearable pressure was brought to our school administrators and, in some instances, a lot of shenanigans ensued.
The issue of seeking boarding places for Form Ones has become a conduit for corruption. Equally, the concerned parents bore the distressing experience of travelling from one school to the next.
The sum of the experience was frustration and extra budgetary expenditures on the part of the parent.
We inked a formal relationship with Microsoft towards the end of 2015.
All other matters being equal, we should be able to get additional support in personnel upgrading and access to key application software for enhancement of online education services to buttress our already robust Education Management Information System and Teacher Development Information System.
Already, more than 1 000 teachers have undergone training in computers at our local universities as part of moving with the times. The world is going digital.
Realities about boarding places
A boarding space is a finite space in our schools. The ministry has taken stock of the available boarding places, and the ugly reality is that we have a paltry 24 000 places.
Quite clearly, this is an insignificant number compared to the number of learners seeking Form One boarding places every year.
In 2016, 329 549 learners sat for Grade Seven national examinations.
This quantum of learners will transit into Form One in 2017.
But of the 329 549, only 24 000 will get boarding places. This tells a huge story about the overwhelming nature of the task at hand.
A classic example before us is that of Goromonzi High School.
As of last week, the ministry data base showed that 1 125 learners had applied for enrolment at the school’s boarding facility.
This is against a backdrop of 105 boarding places that were available (60 for boys and 45 for girls).
Given this scenario, parents are, therefore, encouraged to have realistic expectations when applying for boarding places.
As ministry, we have day secondary schools that are well-positioned to absorb all learners in their catchment area.
That’s where zoning comes in.
However, in order to curb goings-on at some boarding schools, the ministry introduced the Electronic Ministry Application Platform (e-map).
We could not delay it further as it appeared to be the panacea to some of our nagging challenges. One may wonder what e-map is all about.
As of last week, more than 63 percent of next year’s enrolment was done through this system. This represents more than 15 000 boarding school places.
I think about 5 000 were still available.
We have witnessed a lot of pressure at some top boarding schools, especially those around towns and cities.
However, the reality is we can’t all fit into boarding school.
Let me give you an example of Goromonzi or Kriste Mambo, out of the more than 1 000 applicants, 800 had straight 4 units yet only 100 can be accommodated.
And out of these 100 applicants, the majority don’t even stay within the community or are not children of teachers or staff at that school.
How do you deal with that situation?
We are encouraging parents to utilise schools within their environs.
Where are the teachers at Goromonzi and people around that place supposed to send their children?
Understanding e-map
It is common knowledge that the world has gone digital. We talk of e-commerce, e-government, etcetera.
Education is one of the sectors that has benefited immensely from the Presidential e-learning Programme.
As witnessed across the length and breadth of this country, President Mugabe donated several thousands of computers to schools in all the 10 provinces.
We have had media reports saying the computers donated by the President were lying idle. Now that we are using them, then “there is chaos”? Subsequent to that, the President took the initiative to launch the e-learning programme and online services at Chogugudza Primary School.
Let me quote from the speech that the President delivered on the launch day.
“The websites and web-based applications will facilitate online administration of examinations, library research and online interaction between schools and other stakeholders.”
On the back of the launch, the ministry successfully launched e-registration of all Grade Seven candidates in the 2013/ 14 examination seasons.
All our primary schools in Zimbabwe, regardless of their location, enjoy the comfort of registering all Grade Seven candidates online in their offices.
This is the reality of our times which gave us the impetus to put our machinery in motion, resulting in the development of e-map. The core team has seen collaborations across ministries and parastatals.
Effusive gratitude is extended.
Like I said earlier on, e-map is the electronic platform developed by the ministry for the benefit of those applying for Form One boarding places.
The platform became operational on Friday December 11, 2016, and through it, a parent can secure a boarding place for his or her child in the comfort of his or her home through logging onto our site (www.emap.co.zw).
This could be done through a smartphone or computer, at home or at an information centre (of the Ministry of ICT and Courier Services) or at any commercial service provider.
I am aware that just south of our country, in South Africa, Gauteng provides a good model. Some of our schools in this country provide, at a micro-level, a useful contribution to examples of online interactive services.
In fact, most trust schools use this system. It is noteworthy that online registration is not a new phenomenon in Zimbabwe.
Some local schools and universities such as the Zimbabwe Open University, University of Zimbabwe and Midlands State University have long since adopted e-registration. Across the border, the Gauteng Department of Education in South Africa this year launched online registration for grades one to eight services.
During the launch, the Gauteng Member of the Executive Council of Education, Panyaza Lesufi, had this to say, “The province has phased out the manual admission process to make way for a modernised online process which is more convenient and easily accessible.”
Benefits of e-map
As envisaged by the ministry, there are two major benefits associated with the platform.
1. Whereas parents were previously supposed to travel from one school to the other in search of Form One places, applications can be done in the comfort of one’s home.
Parents or guardians can still attend to their usual chores. I believe this could be a huge saving on the part of the parent or guardian in terms of time and the attendant financial costs.
2. The “traditional approach” created huge pressures on our esteemed school heads. The temptation was hard to overcome.
3. Some unscrupulous heads became corrupt in the process as we could not monitor the selection process. The net result was that education was becoming a preserve of the elite with disposable income.
For example, how can you justify a school inviting 3 000 applicants for entrance tests, yet they can only accommodate less than 100 pupils?
As a ministry, we could not sit and watch; something has to give. Sometimes I don’t understand people. Most of those children are able to use their phones for various purposes, and now we are saying let them use these gadgets productively, there is resistance.
But we are happy with the support progressive parents have given this new development. Like I said, 63 percent is a huge success. It is our sincere hope that e-map will work for the benefit all Zimbabweans.
Admittedly, there are teething problems associated with the platform.
Our system can confirm that more than 38 000 learners have registered, and boarding places had been offered to just over 15 000 by Wednesday night.
I, therefore, take this opportunity to thank our stakeholders for their patience and valuable input as we continue to work together to transform our education system.
As a ministry, we want to thank our stakeholders for shunning corruption and embracing tools that enhance transparency and the ease of doing business.
For a sector that is raising benchmarks in preparation for professionalisation, it is imperative to heed President Mugabe’s call that Zimbabwe “. . .requires an effective and efficient education system that guarantees return on investments through its contribution to national development . . .’’
Dr Lazarus Dokora is the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. He shared these views with The Sunday Mail’s Tinashe Farawo in Harare on December 21, 2016.
