Uncertainty about exams unsettles students

Ike Vavi
Correspondent | Monday September 27, 2010 00:00

For the past several years, some of them have been busy with their preparation for the final examinations that could determine their future careers.  For others, the exams are a license that will pave the way for them to continue with their journey in education.

Invigilation and marking of the final examinations has become an uncertainty.

That has the potential to not only to dampen the spirits of the students, but it has a negative effect on their preparation for the examination.

Caesar Omphile is saddened and frustrated by the whole saga. 'For the past month or so, the students have been bombarded with information through career fairs. They were, through such gatherings, told in their faces that for them to join their favourite profession or field they should have passed their final exams. The days of the examinations are upon us and now our children are confused,' he says.

He believes it is heartbreaking and confusing for both the students and the parents. 'We as parents are as confused as the students. We don't know how to reassure our students that everything will be fine. This whole drama is really affecting us. It is in a way affecting the level of preparation of the students,' he says.

MmaTshepo, as she prefers to be identified, is of the view that both parties in this matter did not properly consult parents.  'I don't know why we are being informed about this problem now. It is shocking because both the teachers and the examination council knew a long time ago about this problem.

'They have never informed the parents about it. We always attend Parents Teachers Association (PTA) meetings.Teachers will at these meetings concentrate on telling us about the behaviour of the students and other issues. They have never shared with us this ticking time bomb that they were sitting on. They only waited for it to explode and that is when both parties are coming out into the open to tell us that the discussion surrounding this issues have been going on for some time.' she asks rhetorically. Although appreciative of the rights of the teachers as workers, she feels that their failure to consult the parents about these issues that has the potential to affect the lives of their children is what complicates the whole issue.

'As parents, we are mindful of the fact that they (teachers) have every democratic right to demand a fair treatment and appropriate remuneration for their labour. It is however disheartening that they have all along robbed the parents of the opportunity to be informed about this issue long before it became a crisis. They should have informed us about it a long time ago because it appears this is not an emergency. It is something that they have strategically planned for,' she says.

Although contingency plans are in place through advertising of posts for invigilation, she is apprehensive about the arrangement.

MmaTshepo insisted that the Botswana Examination Council 'must know and understand that these examinations are a matter of life and death for our kids. It is not a matter of just writing the examinations for the sake of it.

The environment under which they will be written should also be taken into consideration. Are the candidates not going to be intimidated by the presence of these 'special' invigilators whom they would have never met before?' She further wondered what will happen with the marking. 'Will the 'special markers' mark the examinations as well? How competent or effective will they be? Can we trust their judgement and confidently say if they are to mark the students scripts, that the grades they will award will be a true reflection or a fair assessment of the students' performance?'

Ditshebo Ketshabile is also worried about the unfolding events around the examinations. 'This tug of war is unfortunately affecting the innocent students. Much as we appreciate the teachers' concerns and disgruntlement, we are at the same time disappointed by the drastic step that they took.

'The step might have been a necessary evil in their view, but perhaps what they have lost sight of when they wanted to punish the other party is the welfare of their primary customers, the students,' he says.

Ketshabile further argued that 'the parents and the students deserve to have been informed about these issues a long time ago. That would have prepared them for this kind of eventuality.

But as it is, these very important customers were not told about these issues before. We only read about them in the newspapers. These are issues that should have been discussed at the PTA meetings. Teachers and their organisations were morally obligated to share the implications of the land mark ruling pertaining to the examinations with the parents and to some extent the students as they are their immediate customers'.

He is of the view that, 'both parties should return to the negotiation table and discuss these issues further. This time around the search for common ground should be guided by the concern for the innocent souls who unfortunately seem to have been taken out of the whole equation.

'Let the two parties do something about this to deal with the stand off for the sake of the candidates. Let them realise that this tug of war is now emotionally affecting innocent souls whose future depends on these examinations,' he appeals passionately.