What has been done differently this time around?
Correspondent | Wednesday April 19, 2017 15:44
The students and the teachers are expected to go on school vacation for about two weeks. During term one, a lot of things went on all at the same time in our schools over and above the traditional teaching and learning as could be expected: accounting for the last year’s results, athletics competitions etc.
Talking about Athletics competitions it should be noted that a lot of academic days were used for various athletics competitions. Despite the fact that term one is very short; sporting activities had a share of the week days which could otherwise be used for teaching and learning for our students. Our leaders across the education spectrum authorised mid-week sporting activities. Although, in the mist of all this, we are still mourning dismal academic results (2016), nobody did not see anything wrong with that.
When schools reopen on the 2nd of May 2017 for term 2, the completing students, that is the standard 7s, the form 3s and 5s will be left with about 5 months to sit for their final examinations. So if the problems that are now a common knowledge in our public schools of; shortage of books, overcrowded classrooms, to mention just these two, are not addressed then we should NOT expect any good results.
These are the very challenges that by and large are at the top list of our poor results of our public schools results. Surprisingly, if seems all is well. Nobody is talking about the problems we have, and have been having in our public schools. Everybody is waiting for the results then, as usual, the teachers will be roosted for the poor results.
I bet , if nothing has been done during term one to try and address the challenges that are obviously affecting teaching and learning, hence the perennial poor results, then it will be a little too late to do anything especially to the completing students in term 2. Then we could as nation, expect the same saddening situation of very poor results of our students that we so much spend on them in their ‘education’: paying for their schools fees, development fees, money for transport, buying them uniform and many more.
The poor parent would only shed a tear when the results come out because the Government failed to provide all that is needed for better results. Unfortunately, the parents would be made to believe that the teachers are the ones responsible for the failure of their students by the very Government that is failing the education system. Yes, the Government is failing the education system because it is failing to provide all that is required to make the teaching and learning conducive in our public schools.
The Government is well aware of the acute shortage of resources, especially the books, the overcrowded classrooms, acute shortage of classrooms, acute shortage of teachers’ houses the very challenges that lead to poor results. But these are taking long to be acted upon by the Government. It therefore put doubts as to whether the Government really takes the Public education seriously.
SOLOMON BATSIETSWE