When book education is not enough

The Herald

20 June 2013

By Nyasha Mutena

TENDAI KUCHERA (28) is basking in the warm sunshine of the morning, like any other day in his life. He is surely going to spend the day hopping from one person he comes across on the streets to the other, begging for money or engaging in quick illicit deals just so to buy “the stress relief pill” as he likes to call dagga while using hunger as an excuse.

With unkempt hair and his mouth smelling like rotten garbage while his body, smelling strong cigarette odour, everything about him is a disaster.

Even life itself has lost its meaning, and he cannot deny that fact, either.

However, no one, even among his daily saviours, would ever guess he was once part of Zimbabwe’s basic education curriculum.

Basic education curricular entitles citizens to go through a certain level of education and in Zimbabwe Government has ensured that one studies from primary level and attain at least a General Certificate in Education Ordinary Level and/or Advanced Level certificates.

Pupils have to at least attain at least five subjects at O-Level including English and Mathematics.

Tendai went through Zimbabwe’s basic education curricular but he just was not a bright student because not everyone is gifted that way.

He, however, boasts magical drawing fingers when it comes to art and given the money and opportunity, he could surely have excelled but he came from a very poor family background – so poor that they hardly had a decent meal on a daily basis.

And to this date, Tendai blames Zimbabwe’s education system for his predicament.

He feels he was not given an opportunity to explore and appreciate his potential.

Tendai’s case is, however, not unique as there are a lot who are in the same situation.  Many people believe Zimbabwe’s education system gives meaning to the notion that the mistakes of a teacher are seen roaming the street, hence the plight of those who roam the streets. These are believed to have failed to make it academically.

However, educationists including Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart believe many Zimbabweans have been let down by the basic education curricular.

The Deputy Provincial Education Director for Harare, Mr Valerio Mukova, said Government had established special classes for extra-curricular activities.

“We have special classes that are meant for extra-curricular education in most of our schools but we are short of the rightful personnel to do so. We are facing financial constrains and lack of resources in our schools,” he said.

“Our students are on the streets because of this. However, it is conceivable to suggest that if we as a ministry have finances to retain our teachers, surely the education system should be able to cater for every child’s needs,” he said.

Minister Coltart believes Zimbabwe’s education system has to be revisited.

“We have heard a good education system for 50 years and the pass rates demonstrate its strengths but the education somehow collapsed.

“The whole system needs to be reviewed. Practical subjects also need to be included in the new system. We do have a major challenge in that most rural schools lack the practical skills at all,” he said.

Minister Coltart said extra-curricular education needs to be introduced at the “earliest possible stage”.

Educationist Mr Wellington Koke said while the basic education curricular plays a major in the development of children from a tender age it does not address the skills needed later in life.

“There has to be a policy to harness specific potential and technical skill at an early stage. We do not have it because our system is too academic and one struggles to make it academically because they is no room and it is like there is no Plan B.”

He concurs with Minister Coltart that the system needs revamping.

“It is difficult to identify natural talent in children and where it is done its peripheral. It is just by chance or luck, therefore the system must be reviewed,” Mr Koke said.

Meanwhile, it is believed that the idea of simply imparting skills and knowledge to others does not define education but is rather misguiding and that is why education is inadequate.

People have diplomas and degrees but are still unemployable. From the primary secondary school levels extra-curricular education is not accessible, all owing to the system.

For example, Hatcliffe has two primary schools and a single secondary school only, all of which should cater for every child within the vicinity with adequate literacy.

This automatically means they all have to adhere to the stipulations because beggars are surely not choosers, which brings to the question on what would happen to those who fail the basic education.

Either they become permanent “home defenders” or they strive to make it in life and some may even resort to illegal deals as the case of Tendai.

“The curriculum is excellent by 1980 standards and Zimbabwe has the highest literacy rate in Africa at 92 percent but the high literacy rate is not translating to the economic strength and there are no remarkable inventions.

“Zimbabwe needs to develop a positive mindset towards education as a nation and in the process creativity and resilience,” an analyst said.

She said information technology is of paramount importance because most schools in Zimbabwe have computers without properly trained teachers leading to most patriotic Zimbabweans doing nothing about changing the false image that has been portrayed around the world.  Positive values of respect, resourcefulness, attitude, morality and accountability are crucial if the education puzzle is to be complete.

“Attitude is to education what a sail is to a ship, if the sail is pointing in the wrong direction, the ship goes in the wrong direction and if it doesn’t have a sail it will not move.”

Focus was on access to education with very little thought on quality but, however, curriculum reforms need an overhaul not just a review.

There must be a global view on the education system where no one is ashamed on a global scale thus our curriculum together with civic education will have a direct bearing on the economic development of the nation. This also calls for a tailor-made education system where there is civic education and children are given the choice to appreciate something other than basic education curricular.