The Herald
By Bhekizulu Sibanda
7 October 2009
OPINION
ONE can be forgiven to conclude that the media were instrumental in reversing the examination registration deadline.
Was the Ministry of Education going to throw a lifeline to students who had failed to beat the September 25 deadline were it not for the media and public outcry?
Already the Minister of Education, Arts, Sport and Culture, David Coltart, had refused to extend the deadline insisting that they proceed with the 30 percent who had managed to register and the other 70 percent would register for June 2010.
In defence of his statement, Minister Coltart gave out that further delays would have disrupted the smooth running of public examinations.
Then the question to ask would be: How can one talk of a smooth running examination schedule with only 30 percent of the students on board?
Nevertheless, the deadline extension is not the panacea to the issues affecting the education sector, but a reflection of the status quo within the education sector, which has continued to disintegrate with no remedy in sight.
The education sector has been affected by the harsh economic environment. It has witnessed massive human resources exodus and according to Zimta, it is estimated that over 15 000 teachers have left the teaching fraternity and these have not been replaced.
Schools are grappling against a critical shortage of learning material like chalks, textbooks and ballpoints. The situation has been made worse by obsolete infrastructure that has gone without repair and maintenance due to the inflationary environment.
Recently, there were reports that thousands of Ordinary and Advanced Level candidates from as far as 2007 were yet to get their certificates because Zimsec did not have the financial capacity for print. This scenario was compromising student’s chances of furthering their studies, or securing employment.
The bone of contention is the attitude of Government towards the education sector. The problems within the sector are not on Government’s priority list.
The education sector is in a crisis and therefore Government is not doing enough to address these problems. Government’s attitude is clearly reflected in the initial statement made by Minister Coltart in response to examination registration deadline: “It’s unfortunate that there is little we can do to assist those affected, Government has no resources to subsidise the fees.” While it’s understood that Government has limited financial resources, education is not a priority, Government would rather source financial resources for legislators’ luxurious vehicles than subsidise the education sector.
Therefore, the only logical conclusion would be, Government just does not care or the minister is not in touch with the developments on the ground, which is very unlikely.
Is the Government aware of increasing numbers of school dropouts due to unaffordable school levies, especially in rural areas?
Has it ever dawned to the minister that the majority of students that are failing to pay for their examination fees are those in rural areas?
Is he aware that these are the same parents who have been failing to pay School Development Association levies and in some cases have been making payments in kind to allow their children to attend classes? Under the circumstances, what miracle is waiting to happen so that these parents will be able to meet the monthly instalments towards examination until January 2010?
It would appear the Government is not in the picture concerning the income structures of the majority of parents. At US$10 per subject for six subjects one would need US$60 in total, quite reasonable for an average working person. However, ask someone who is unemployed in the rural areas to raise that amount over three months it’s different.
This is not the first time Minister Coltart has miscalculated parents’ ability to pay school fees. Earlier this year, he pegged exorbitant fees for Government schools which were beyond the reach of many. Eventually, the fees were drastically reduced having realised his oversight.
Now that the examination registration issues having being resolved, it is prudent for the ministry to immediately start planning for the writing of these examinations. In 2008, the Ministry made a last-minute urgent appeal for Government vehicles to dispatch examination question papers, poor planning indeed which should not be repeated.
The ministry should also be proactive in liaising with the Ministry of Finance so that financial resources are made available in time without markers having to first go on some form of demonstration to be paid thereby delaying the marking process.
The problem of unprinted Ordinary and Advanced Level certificates has remained outstanding for some time, what plans does Government have concerning these? Are they waiting for 2009 students to write their examinations first so that they are printed at the same time? Or Zimsec is just watching as statistics of unprinted certificates continue to rise.
So what must happen first for the Honourable Minister of Education, Arts, Sports and Culture to realise that the education sector is in crisis and Government intervention is urgently required to avert the problem before it becomes a disaster? Efforts for the restoration of economic recovery, growth and development in the country will remain in the horizon if the whole generation is left behind uneducated at this stage.
In 1996, the Swedish government poured up to US$13,9 million towards the education sector, which was channelled towards procurement of textbooks, special education needs, construction of school buildings, capacity building and promotion of gender equity in education. There has been nothing since.
Despite the setback, Government should still remain committed to ensuring that education has remained accessible to every child. We read of pass rates falling, more children dropping out of school and what has been the response by the Government. Is the education system still the best in Africa? If not, where did we go wrong and what is being done towards rectifying this? There is need at present for the ministry to think outside the box and be proactive in articulating their problems.