The Sunday Mail
Dr Takavafira Zhou
STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – in an interdisciplinary and applied approach.
Much of STEM has its origins as far back as 2008 under UN initiatives, with a number of countries adopting it in 2009. Zimbabwe only adopted it under Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo’s euphoria last year.
The STEM wave is reverberating in the Press and in the corridors of tertiary education.
Professor Moyo’s STEM is nothing more than the recent announcement that “students registering for Advanced Level subjects at public schools are going to get free education as Government will cover their full school and boarding fees”.
According to a statement made by Prof Moyo, schools that register full lower Sixth STEM classes in 2016 stand a chance to win a cash prize of $100 000 and a bus.
However, the idea of starting to apply STEM at Lower Sixth is defective, ill-conceived and unproductive.
Rather than teach the four disciplines as separate and discrete subjects, under normal circumstances, STEM integrates them into a cohesive learning paradigm based on real-world applications.
Further, there has not been any baseline survey to inform the introduction of STEM and neither is there a clear implementation policy, let alone a committee on STEM education working to create a joint national strategy for implementation.
While STEM support is available from international donors, it is not adequate for successful, effective and efficient national implementation.
Zimbabwe does not have any national budgetary funds for STEM education or for increasing public and youth STEM engagement, improving the STEM experience for students, and designing better education for the STEM workforce.
Both the Ministries of Primary and Secondary Education, and that of Higher and Tertiary Education do not offer any STEM-based programmes, let alone research programmes with a STEM emphasis.
They also do not offer any STEM grant selection programmes and general programmes that support STEM education.
It is, therefore, puzzling for any level-headed Zimbabwean to expect the success of STEM under such an anachronistic and shambolic situation.
The Obama administration’s 2014 budget invested $3,1 billion in federal programmes on STEM education, yet we are naïve to expect success from a zero budget.
Investments must be made to recruit and support STEM teachers, as well as support STEM-focused primary and high schools with STEM Innovation Networks.
There is also need for a national budget into advanced (university) research projects for education, to better understand next-generation learning technologies.
Sadly, most of our universities have become little more than celebrated high schools with very little funds allocated for research.
The Government is struggling to pay teachers and lecturers their meagre salaries – a situation which further militates against successful implementation of STEM.
One major weakness in our implementation matrix is that we have not clearly examined the importance of STEM education beyond the vague rhetoric of “science and technology skills in various facets of the economy, something that has even been highlighted in the Zim Asset economic plan”.
We have not clearly defined how we will meet our need and even that need has not been clearly unravelled without schematic abstractions and generalisations.
By 2009 in America, rigorous research had revealed the need for 8,65 million workers in STEM-related jobs such as manufacturing, computing, traditional engineering, physical sciences, life sciences and mathematics.
In the UK, the Royal Academy of Engineering reports that the Brits has to graduate 100 000 STEM majors every year until 2020 just to meet demand.
According to the report, Germany has a shortage of 210 00 workers in the mathematics, computer science, natural science and technology disciplines.
On the contrary, Zimbabwe has no specific targets and the implementation matrix is only haphazard.
Zimbabwe is also lacking in blended learning and is merely focusing on Lower and Upper Six education.
Under normal circumstances, STEM should be separated from the traditional science and maths education by the blended learning environment that shows students how science can be applied to everyday life.
It teaches students computational thinking and focuses on the real world application of problem solving.
STEM education should begin when the students are very young.
At primary level, STEM education should focus on the introductory courses as well as awareness of the STEM fields and occupations.
This initial step should provide standards-based and real world problem-based learning, connecting all four of the STEM subjects.
The goal should be to intrigue students’ interest so that they will want to pursue the courses.
There should also be an emphasis on bridging in-school and out-of-school STEM learning opportunities.
At Forms One to Four, the courses should become more rigorous and challenging.
Student awareness of STEM fields and occupations should still be pursued, as well as the academic requirements of such fields.
Student exploration of STEM-related careers should begin at this level, particularly for O-Level.
At A-Level, the programme of study should focus on the application of the subjects in a challenging and rigorous manner.
Courses and pathways should now be available in STEM fields and occupations, as well as preparation for post-secondary education and employment.
More emphasis should be placed on bridging in-school and out-of-school STEM opportunities.
It important to note that STEM education can only improve within the broader framework of the education system in Zimbabwe, and non-STEM subjects.
The current curriculum review does not clearly show this and neither has it seriously consulted teachers and industry on important educational reforms.
l would say that indeed, the more things change, the more they remain the same.
Such educational reforms will have limited longevity, applicability and sustainability in the fast moving world of the 21st century.
Government should mellow down to a more constructive approach permeable to rigorous research.
The curriculum review has been opaque and narrow in consultation while in its present form; STEM is a tissue of misrepresentation, a monumental educational injustice, and a prescription for the wrong educational disease.
The earlier the Government realises that the prescription is worse than the disease, the better.
Dr Takavafira Zhou is the president of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe.
