Stakeholders in the education sector have expressed mixed feelings regarding the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programme.
One section, which is primarily made up of parents and guardians view the programme as one of the best things to come out of the education sector in recent years.
On the contrary, another section of the stakeholders, which is mostly made up of education experts, voiced concern that students in rural schools will be disadvantaged as there are few schools offering subjects that fall under STEM.
With the liquidity crunch showing no signs of ending any time soon, parents with students who are on the STEM programme were relieved when they were advised by school authorities that Government, through the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, had honoured its pledge by paying school and boarding fees for the second term.
Mrs Hannah Mupambirei, whose son is among those on the programme, was ecstatic after she was advised that school and boarding fees for her son were paid for under the STEM programme.
“I was pleasantly surprised when I received a call from the school bursar advising me not to worry about my son’s school fees since they had already been covered. I owed the school more than $700 and with the current liquidity crunch I was having sleepless night as I pondered how I was going to raise the fees,” Mrs Mupambirei said.
When Government announced the programme, Mrs Mupambirei was among those parents who were doubting the initiative.
“At first I was skeptical of the programme. I was asking myself where Government was going to get the funds in such a volatile economy. On the other hand, I was thinking that the programme was one of the many Government initiatives that are not followed through,” Mrs Mupambirei said.
The programme has also been given the thumps up by Mr Peter Kwaira, a renowned education expert.
Mr Kwaira is on record saying the programme is very noble and is a step in the right direction.
Free education is being offered to all students in public schools who registered for science subjects when they enrol for Advanced Level this year with Government paying for their full school and boarding fees. STEM is meant to promote the learning of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics subjects.
The STEM revolution began in 2013 when President Mugabe merged the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education with that of Science and Technology Development.
The combined Ministry became the foundation of higher and tertiary education in the country.
Stakeholders in the education sector maintain that the fastest growing and highest earning careers in the future will be in STEM fields.
Despite a public spat between the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education over the implementation of the programme, the former is aggressively marketing the programme.
The ministry is running a competition that seeks to encourage schools to introduce STEM subjects.
As incentives, one of the schools is set to win a 30-seater bus and a $100 000 cash prize. Besides having their fees covered, some 200 students are set to win laptops and iPads. A dream trip to Microsoft and other Sillicone Valley companies await 10 lucky students.
The ministry seeks to increase the number of STEM students who will enroll in STEM degree programmes at the country’s universities in 2018 and to stimulate interest in Mathematics, Biology, Physics and Chemistry subjects.
Experts maintain that the study of STEM subjects will result in the industrialisation of the economy and will also create employment and empower the young through the promotion of science and innovation.
Mr Maxwell Rafemoyo of the Education Coalition Zimbabwe said although the programme brought financial relief to parents and guardians, this is only a short-term intervention. He said it is too early to come up with a meaningful assessment of the programme.
“The actual goals for the programme cannot be realised in the short term. Although the programme brought relief to parents and guardians, its actual goals cannot be achieved in the short term,” Mr Rafemoyo said.
He added that the programme has created problems regarding Government policy design and implementation.
“In my view, STEM has exposed the challenges associated with policy design and implementation. Some students deserve the STEM funds more than others. Students in rural areas where there are no facilities for STEM subjects are being left out. The funds should be distributed equitably,” Mr Rafemoyo said.
Despite these challenges, however, Government is not showing any signs of slowing down in its implementation of the programme. Instead, it has gone into overdrive as it seeks to promote this noble idea which will empower Zimbabweans to become globally competitive.
Taking a cue from Government, a local bank, MBCA is also offering scholarships for STEM subjects.
The bank is offering scholarships for students under the age of 21 who are studying for their first degree in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
There was a massive response to the scholarship programme when it was launched some few months ago. Efforts to get the statistics regarding the number of students that have so far benefitted from the programme were fruitless.
The future for STEM is bright since there was a marked improvement in the pass rate and candidature in the 2015 November A-Level examinations for STEM subjects.