The ever-shifting world

Tshwarelo Hosia | Monday April 17, 2023 06:00

Our continuing survival in an ever changing world rests on our ability to adapt and develop new approaches. In particular, education must reposition itself to address pressing demands and challenges of a new world order. Charles Darwin was clearly ahead of his time with his discovery of the principle of the survival of the fittest.

It is a principle relevant then as it is today. Undoubtedly, education is a facilitator in the quest for a transition from one epoch to the other. And therefore education cannot afford to be static. If yesterday the mere acquisition of a Cambridge certificate or university degree was enough to land one a place in the government’s payroll or private sector, today the goal posts have shifted.

Calls for a review or an overhaul of the education system continue to mount. The education system must now and then undergo mutation in order to cater for modern day economic imperatives. In our case, our education system is producing ‘educated people” who cannot secure jobs or create jobs for themselves or navigate life challenges. Unemployment or under employment of university graduates is compelling a closer and increased public scrutiny of our education system. There is enough evidence to suggest that success at national examinations does necessarily guarantee access to sustainable livelihoods. The notion that education is the key to success does not seem to hold water any more.

It is increasingly becoming difficult to convince students that their future rests in education. It does not need rocket science to realise that something is not right about the quality and relevance of education in the country. Both international and local experts engaged, close to a decade ago, to interrogate the education system and develop a new dispensation (Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan), unearthed serious flaws and limitations. Urgent measures should be undertaken to salvage the reputation education has enjoyed over the years. One of the grey areas which came under scrutiny in the Professor Jaap Kuiper study is the overreliance of our education system on national examinations.

Kuiper makes a distinction between education for examinations and education for life. An examination centered education sees getting students ready for examinations as an end in itself whereas educating for life means teaching beyond examinations. When examinations assume centre stage, students acquire knowledge that can become useless when they face real life situations later in their adult lives. But life education is a life companion that makes one to weather any storms in a real life setting. It has been found that successful completion of examinations, which culminates in certification, is no longer sufficient to address the needs of a changing economic climate.

In spite of the weaknesses of a national examination anchored system, our education system continues to cling religiously to the status quo. Preparing schools to face external examinations at some stage is a long established tradition and it is difficult to imagine the life of a school without examinations. Corridor talk is hinting at the possibility of elimination of national examinations at primary school level but it is understandable if the new dispensation were to invite a murmur of protest.

The life of a school traditionally revolves around examinations because examinations are the yardstick - serving the very purpose of separating wheat from chaff. It is believed that examinations encourage a spirit of competition between students and among staff, which spirit might enhance academic excellence. Hitherto, the primary goal of a school is to equip all the students with the tools enabling them to navigate and overcome examination hurdles. Kuiper does not at all discount or underestimate the importance of national examinations. However, he faults them for having a narrow focus. “The often-found situation that the education system narrows its very own aims into a mere ‘drilling’ of learners for readiness in the national examination will always result in an education that is narrow, boring, un-practical and indeed largely irrelevant to a country’s needs and wellbeing. In this situation, it is the tail of assessment which now wags the dog of education; instead of the other way around.” National examinations by their very nature are selective because of their narrow focus on testing knowledge acquisition at the expense of skills.

The examination system produces graduates who cannot spread their wings across the board but can only narrowly function within defined specific contexts. The focus on examination narrows teaching to areas that are relevant to examinations. Kuiper noted that the senior secondary education programme is intended to cover a broad range of life skills but sadly the teaching leaves out the much desired 21st century skills because they are not tested in the national examinations. Here is an excerpt of the BGCSE programme aims which are neglected in the classroom. At the end of a two-year senior secondary programme learners should have:

1) Developed desirable attitudes and behavioural patterns in interacting with the environment in a manner that is protective, preserving and nurturing; 2) Acquired attitudes and values, developed basic skills and understanding to allow for execution of rights and responsibilities as good citizens of Botswana and the world;

3) Developed information technology skills as well as an understanding and appreciation of their influence in the day-to-day activities; 4) Acquired knowledge, attitudes and practices that will ensure good family and health practices including awareness and management of epidemics (such as HIV/AIDS) that prepare them for productive life; 5) Developed pre-vocational knowledge and manipulative skills that will enable them to apply content learnt, and attitudes and values developed, to practical life situations in the world of work; 6) Developed an understanding of, and acquired basic skills in business, everyday commercial transactions and entrepreneurship; 7) Developed foundation skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, communication, inquiring, and team work/interpersonal, to help them to be productive and adaptive to survive in a changing environment; 8) Developed study skills required for further study and training.

The BGCSE programme was designed with a focus on the 21st century skills. However, execution of the programme is limited in scope. Most of the programme’s aims exist on paper but do not find their way to the classroom. It seems the programme was designed for an ideal flexible teaching programme which accommodates skills training and knowledge acquisition. It is hoped the envisaged outcome-based curriculum will do sufficient justice to the 21st century skills.