The Chronicle
By Pamela Shumba
7 June 2013
THOUSANDS of pupils in Bulawayo cannot read or write and are performing far below their form levels in Mathematics, the Bulawayo provincial Education Director, Mr Dan Moyo, revealed yesterday. Addressing delegates at the official launch of the Performance Lag Address
Programme (PLAP), for Bulawayo, at Coghlan Primary School yesterday, Mr Moyo said a pilot project conducted in the province revealed that a majority of pupils were performing far below expected levels.
PLAP is a programme designed to address learning anomalies and eradicate zero percent pass rates in schools.
It identifies the level or grade at which pupils stopped grasping learning concepts and accelerates their understanding to the level it should be at.
Mr Moyo said the shocking results came out after pupils from 30 primary schools and 30 secondary schools in the province were tested in a survey in Mathematics, reading and spellings.
He said of the 21 845 pupils tested at secondary school, 19 861 were performing below expected levels, while 527 were performing at the expected level and 1 457 performed above expected levels.
“At primary level, out of a total of about 11 086, an average of 6 273 primary school pupils tested in the pilot study are operating below their expected grade levels.
“Only 1 397 primary school pupils are performing at the expected grade levels and 3 416 are performing above their grade levels,†said Mr Moyo.
He expressed concern over the shocking statistics but was optimistic that PLAP would tremendously improve the pupils’ performance, saying he expected heads of schools, teachers and parents to take PLAP seriously.
“As Bulawayo province, these results are our indicator. No doubt we have experienced negative results and we need to adjust the environment such that we start yielding positive results. We are definitely going to have higher pass rates, a competent and confident young generation, which in turn will give us an adult generation of effective and efficient problem solvers and decision makers,†said Mr Moyo.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Mrs Constance Chigwamba said PLAP had proved that it could boost the academic achievement of learners in all subjects.
“This programme was first tried out in one of the provinces and public examination results began to improve. The programme begins by assessing the functional level of every learner and comparing these to what is expected at their level.
“If the learner lags behind, the teacher conducts remedial lessons on a regular basis. Extra reading and Mathematics exercises are provided and in most cases she or he begins to improve in a relatively short time,†she said.
Mrs Chigwamba commended Bulawayo province for embracing and according the programme the recognition it deserved, saying PLAP was one of the support programmes for those experiencing different types of disadvantages.
She said literacy was the key to the development of any nation because one could read words, calculate numbers, make wise decisions and be a responsible and productive citizen.
The programme will start operating in Bulawayo schools on Monday.
It has already been launched, with notable success in Manicaland and Matabeleland North and is set to spread to the rest of the country.
Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart graced the occasion, together with senior officials from his ministry, the Public Service Commission and tertiary institutions, councillors, education officers, teachers and parents.