New era beckons for education sector

19 Oct, 2014 - 06:10 0 Views
New era beckons for education sector

The Sunday Mail

1710-1-1-EDUCATIONEvery Zimbabwean child deserves access to a world-class education system that encourages skills development and allows school leavers to choose between finding employment and starting their own businesses.

However, renowned educationists such as Professor Caiphus Nziramasanga say the current primary and secondary education curriculum does not serve such purposes as it is producing students who struggle to either find employment or start their own businesses after leaving school.

To arrest the problem, Government — guided by the 1999 Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Education and Training (CIET) Report — started the curriculum review process last week in an effort to plug holes in the current curriculum.

The main objective of the review is to implement the recommendations of the CIET report which include the inclusion of psychomotor skills in schools and early childhood learning.

The review also seeks to create cohesion between the educational curriculum and other national policy documents such as the Zim-Asset.

The curriculum review process has been labelled as the beginning of a revolution which will completely change the complexion of the education sector.

Some have remained sceptical about the development, saying the reviewing of the curriculum is an area which should be treaded on carefully as it is the heart of the education system.

However, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Dr Lazarus Dokora is not afraid to venture into unknown territories as he seeks to bring back sanity to the education sector.

“This curriculum review is about implementing the recommendations of the 1999 CIET report,” Dr Dokora said at the launch of the curriculum review process last week.

“Our curriculum needs to ensure coherence and relate to national policy documents, the actual pedagogical process and learning outcomes, thus being compliant with global educational trends.”

Dr Dokora said the curriculum should be able to meet the new challenges of the changing world.

“Given the complexity of today’s ever-changing world, contemporary approaches to curriculum development far exceed the traditional understanding of curricula as merely plans of study or a list of prescribed content.

“For example high ranking countries such as Finland and Singapore have focused their curriculum on problem solving, innovation, creativity and independent learning.”

Dr Dokora said in the last two decades, curriculum innovations and reviews have been driven by rapid technological and social changes.

He said the review needs to embrace a holistic approach to learning and teaching as recommended in the CIET report.

The curriculum review is also expected to take note of transnational trends, models and be compliant with Zim-Asset.

Zim-Asset mandates the ministry to provide a curriculum that addresses national economic development needs.

Experts say the curriculum should enable all learners to understand the world they live in, reach the highest possible levels of achievement and equip themselves for work and life-long learning.

Professor Caiphus Nziramasanga, who led the 1999 CIET, said Government was making the right step by reviewing the curriculum but added that he was sad that the review process is being done 15 years after the recommendations were made.

“First of all, I feel delighted because the policy makers now see the importance of the report and its relevance.

“I am pleased to that effect,” he said. But I am also unhappy because it has taken 15 years after the report came out and surely if it was implemented in 2000, we would be 15 years ahead.

“I heard of other nations that have successfully implemented CIET, but because we delayed, my view as a teacher and scholar is that it has resulted in so many social problems which we could have avoided if that report had been implemented earlier.”

Professor Nziramasanga said if the report had been implemented as of January 2000, the country would not be having so many unemployed school leavers.

“We have about 90 000 students finishing “A” levels every year but only 30 000 go into tertiary education.”

Mines and Mining Development Minister Cde Walter Chidhakwa, who was among the guests during the launch, said sustainable development starts with education.

“There is something about development that begins and is sustained by the way we structure our education, the way we deliver that education and the way we continue to innovate that education system because we live in a dynamic world,” he said.

“The issue of relevance of an education system becomes a critical aspect of the success of that education system.

“You can enjoy custody of vast mineral reserves but until and unless you are able to produce a pupil, a student and a worker who is relevant in the utilisation of those resources, you will always remain poor.

Various teacher organisations including Zimta and Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) welcomed the curriculum review process saying it was long overdue.

Education Coalition of Zimbabwe Director, Mr Maxwell Rafomoyo said while the curriculum review is welcome, it should also look at how corruption can be tamed in the country.

“We feel honoured to give a message of solidarity. The curriculum review has been long-awaited and as a civic organisation, we applaud the ministry for this achievement. The curriculum should also be able to fight corruption,” he said.

According to a study done by the World Education Forum, the education system efficiency rates in Zimbabwe for the period 1992 to 1998 were above 82 percent.

The study noted that the efficiency of the system has both been increasing and decreasing from 1992 to 1995.

Since then a sharp decrease has been witnessed.

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