Opinion / Columnist
Lack of infrastructure and bad timing of GPA policy makers
15 Jul 2011 at 12:43hrs | Views
Lack of infrastructure and bad timing of making Mathematics, Science and History mandatory subjects: GPA policy makers' ploy to shift the blame of their education policy bankruptcy to marginalised students
I would like to respond to media reports that the Secretary of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture recently told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Technology, that in addition to English Language, Mathematics, Science and History will be mandatory up to 'O' Level. My argument is not wholesomely against the idea of the changes, but rather on the basis of bad timing and how the approach will further widen the gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged.
It is commendable to have Mathematics and Science as mandatory subjects in order to meet the technological and innovative challenges of today's world, however, as far as I am concerned, such changes should have taken place after the concerned Ministry would have done its homework. In addition, the Ministry should have consulted other stakeholders (PTAs, parents, academics, students, and the public) to get their views. Because of failure to do what I have aforementioned, the approach is not democratic, lacks transparency and community development principles of social justice, social solidarity, equality, empathy, social inclusion, diversity, among others. It is unfortunate that in Zimbabwe, the development of the education curriculum and other government institutions were not democratised after independence. It is still a preserve of the elite class to make decisions that suit them and their children and leave marginalised communities in the periphery.
It is a well-known fact that the development of both primary and secondary schools in Zimbabwe is regionally skewed. Because of this, the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture should have started with a programme of building or upgrading laboratories and improving staffing with qualified subject teachers in all secondary schools as a prerequisite to match their strict requirements. Most rural day secondary schools or Upper Tops as they were known in the 1980s have no laboratories. As a result, construction of laboratories has to start from scratch in almost all secondary schools that were established after independence. The reality is that what is generally believed to have been an ambitious education programme spearheaded by ZANU-PF only resulted in construction of what would pass for shell structures without any laboratory equipment.
The only secondary schools that would meet the requirements in most parts of Matabeleland and Midlands will be mainly those that were built by missionaries during the colonial era, and a few Government secondary schools dotted in what was meant to be "Growth-Points". The Upper Tops were mainly built using international donor funds donated under the auspices of the Reconstruction Programme immediately after independence. However, the programme was abruptly brought to a halt mainly by the operations of the Gukurahundi, and partly by "dissidents". Cement bags and other building material meant for the reconstruction programme were either destroyed by rain or stolen after teachers had fled away from schools to escape death from the perpetrators of the massacres. Therefore, lagging behind in terms of development of Matabeleland and Midlands regions get be traced back to that time that has been dubbed "the era of madness".
Over the years, they have been trickles of secondary school 'O' Level graduates from underdeveloped schools of Matabeleland and Midlands who mainly train as primary school teachers. This is not because it is their favourite profession, No it isn't. Conversely, the teaching profession is shunned by students who go to good schools and manage to pass five or more 'O' Level subjects in a single sitting including Science, Mathematics and English Language. Most students with passes including the three subjects that I have just mentioned proceed to 'A' Level and universities, and if they do not make the grade train as secondary school teachers. On the other hand, it has become a tradition for the majority of students from marginalised regions to train as primary school teachers. The schools where they learn have no capacity to produce students with five 'O' Level subjects in one sitting including English Language, let alone Mathematics and Science. Thus, students amass five or more mainly Commercial and Art subjects in two or three sittings. The reason is that former Upper Tops do not attract qualified Maths and Science teachers because of poor facilities.
Going by what I have explained above, the GPA-sponsored government has shifted the blame for its economic failures and education policy bankruptcy to the "poor child" in the impoverished regions. At the end of the day, it will sarcastically be viewed as if parents in Matabeleland and Midlands are failing in their parental duties to motivate their children to study, as some opportunists masquerading as politicians have already done in the media. It boggles the mind if these bootlickers ever give a second thought how their demeaning and insulting comments lower the self-esteem and confidence of the 'child' and people of Matabeleland in general. Even if the government was to first build laboratories, going by their record, it will take them 'two decades or more' to finish them. In addition to what I have already cited above, there is no electricity in most rural schools in marginalised areas. If generators were to be installed, most of our rural folks cannot afford the diesel that would be needed as fuel.
Why does our government have piles and piles of not so well thought through programmes that end up abandoned? It is astonishing that a committee that is headed by an MDC legislator who originates from an impoverished region could have easily let a professional off the hook to recklessly offload his responsibilities on the poor children without first doing his homework. Legislators have to bear in mind that they are 'parents first' (with or without a child), before they view themselves as privileged citizens who hold public office. Dillen points out that 'that every discourse is influenced by ideology, thereby usually favouring the most powerful. ...most of the accepted presentations of reality 'forget' some elements, namely, those which are important for the weakest.' Furthermore, Raffo et al. argue that 'simply tackling the presenting 'problems' of poverty and education will ...ultimately prove to be ineffective if underlying inequalities are permitted to reproduce these problems in other forms.' Poverty and disadvantage is reproducing itself in Matabeleland and Midlands, and it is painful that MDC legislators are also failing to come up with suitable positive interventions.
Finally, why would the GPA-sponsored government rush into making History a mandatory subject when it is a known fact that Chigwedere distorted it in favour of ZANU-PF? Does the GPA not agree with the generally believed idea that History as a school subject is being used by ZANU-PF as part of its election manifesto? I believe it is important to single out and forgive Coltart for the History saga because even if he had reservations who would not dare open his mouth for fear of being labelled and reminded of his past. The history of Zimbabwe is a hugely contested terrain that could qualify to be one of the "Outstanding Issues" of the GPA. Has it ever dawned on the parties in the GPA that if ZAPU was part of the political arrangement, that History as a school subject would have been openly contested? ZANU-PF has taken advantage of the not so alert MDC politicians to advance its political ambitions.
How and in what ways did an MDC Minister and a Committee Chair fail to notice that the envisaged changes will widen the gulf between the poor and the rich? It would be interesting to hear what Welshman Ncube says about this to his Twitter and Facebook followers. Foucault argues that 'the view that truth is intrinsically opposed to power and therefore inevitably plays a liberating role.' ZANU-PF might have deliberately pushed for History to be included as one of the compulsory subjects before the resuscitated ZAPU becomes part of the next government or Parliament. In my opinion, Geography would have been a better option because it contributes to technological advances and innovation.
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Akim Zwelibanzi can be contacted on akimzwelibanzi@rocketmail.com
I would like to respond to media reports that the Secretary of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture recently told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Technology, that in addition to English Language, Mathematics, Science and History will be mandatory up to 'O' Level. My argument is not wholesomely against the idea of the changes, but rather on the basis of bad timing and how the approach will further widen the gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged.
It is commendable to have Mathematics and Science as mandatory subjects in order to meet the technological and innovative challenges of today's world, however, as far as I am concerned, such changes should have taken place after the concerned Ministry would have done its homework. In addition, the Ministry should have consulted other stakeholders (PTAs, parents, academics, students, and the public) to get their views. Because of failure to do what I have aforementioned, the approach is not democratic, lacks transparency and community development principles of social justice, social solidarity, equality, empathy, social inclusion, diversity, among others. It is unfortunate that in Zimbabwe, the development of the education curriculum and other government institutions were not democratised after independence. It is still a preserve of the elite class to make decisions that suit them and their children and leave marginalised communities in the periphery.
It is a well-known fact that the development of both primary and secondary schools in Zimbabwe is regionally skewed. Because of this, the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture should have started with a programme of building or upgrading laboratories and improving staffing with qualified subject teachers in all secondary schools as a prerequisite to match their strict requirements. Most rural day secondary schools or Upper Tops as they were known in the 1980s have no laboratories. As a result, construction of laboratories has to start from scratch in almost all secondary schools that were established after independence. The reality is that what is generally believed to have been an ambitious education programme spearheaded by ZANU-PF only resulted in construction of what would pass for shell structures without any laboratory equipment.
The only secondary schools that would meet the requirements in most parts of Matabeleland and Midlands will be mainly those that were built by missionaries during the colonial era, and a few Government secondary schools dotted in what was meant to be "Growth-Points". The Upper Tops were mainly built using international donor funds donated under the auspices of the Reconstruction Programme immediately after independence. However, the programme was abruptly brought to a halt mainly by the operations of the Gukurahundi, and partly by "dissidents". Cement bags and other building material meant for the reconstruction programme were either destroyed by rain or stolen after teachers had fled away from schools to escape death from the perpetrators of the massacres. Therefore, lagging behind in terms of development of Matabeleland and Midlands regions get be traced back to that time that has been dubbed "the era of madness".
Over the years, they have been trickles of secondary school 'O' Level graduates from underdeveloped schools of Matabeleland and Midlands who mainly train as primary school teachers. This is not because it is their favourite profession, No it isn't. Conversely, the teaching profession is shunned by students who go to good schools and manage to pass five or more 'O' Level subjects in a single sitting including Science, Mathematics and English Language. Most students with passes including the three subjects that I have just mentioned proceed to 'A' Level and universities, and if they do not make the grade train as secondary school teachers. On the other hand, it has become a tradition for the majority of students from marginalised regions to train as primary school teachers. The schools where they learn have no capacity to produce students with five 'O' Level subjects in one sitting including English Language, let alone Mathematics and Science. Thus, students amass five or more mainly Commercial and Art subjects in two or three sittings. The reason is that former Upper Tops do not attract qualified Maths and Science teachers because of poor facilities.
Going by what I have explained above, the GPA-sponsored government has shifted the blame for its economic failures and education policy bankruptcy to the "poor child" in the impoverished regions. At the end of the day, it will sarcastically be viewed as if parents in Matabeleland and Midlands are failing in their parental duties to motivate their children to study, as some opportunists masquerading as politicians have already done in the media. It boggles the mind if these bootlickers ever give a second thought how their demeaning and insulting comments lower the self-esteem and confidence of the 'child' and people of Matabeleland in general. Even if the government was to first build laboratories, going by their record, it will take them 'two decades or more' to finish them. In addition to what I have already cited above, there is no electricity in most rural schools in marginalised areas. If generators were to be installed, most of our rural folks cannot afford the diesel that would be needed as fuel.
Why does our government have piles and piles of not so well thought through programmes that end up abandoned? It is astonishing that a committee that is headed by an MDC legislator who originates from an impoverished region could have easily let a professional off the hook to recklessly offload his responsibilities on the poor children without first doing his homework. Legislators have to bear in mind that they are 'parents first' (with or without a child), before they view themselves as privileged citizens who hold public office. Dillen points out that 'that every discourse is influenced by ideology, thereby usually favouring the most powerful. ...most of the accepted presentations of reality 'forget' some elements, namely, those which are important for the weakest.' Furthermore, Raffo et al. argue that 'simply tackling the presenting 'problems' of poverty and education will ...ultimately prove to be ineffective if underlying inequalities are permitted to reproduce these problems in other forms.' Poverty and disadvantage is reproducing itself in Matabeleland and Midlands, and it is painful that MDC legislators are also failing to come up with suitable positive interventions.
Finally, why would the GPA-sponsored government rush into making History a mandatory subject when it is a known fact that Chigwedere distorted it in favour of ZANU-PF? Does the GPA not agree with the generally believed idea that History as a school subject is being used by ZANU-PF as part of its election manifesto? I believe it is important to single out and forgive Coltart for the History saga because even if he had reservations who would not dare open his mouth for fear of being labelled and reminded of his past. The history of Zimbabwe is a hugely contested terrain that could qualify to be one of the "Outstanding Issues" of the GPA. Has it ever dawned on the parties in the GPA that if ZAPU was part of the political arrangement, that History as a school subject would have been openly contested? ZANU-PF has taken advantage of the not so alert MDC politicians to advance its political ambitions.
How and in what ways did an MDC Minister and a Committee Chair fail to notice that the envisaged changes will widen the gulf between the poor and the rich? It would be interesting to hear what Welshman Ncube says about this to his Twitter and Facebook followers. Foucault argues that 'the view that truth is intrinsically opposed to power and therefore inevitably plays a liberating role.' ZANU-PF might have deliberately pushed for History to be included as one of the compulsory subjects before the resuscitated ZAPU becomes part of the next government or Parliament. In my opinion, Geography would have been a better option because it contributes to technological advances and innovation.
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Akim Zwelibanzi can be contacted on akimzwelibanzi@rocketmail.com
Source - Akim Zwelibanzi
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