Accomplishment of organisational goals takes hard work, good planning and execution. The education system is facing a very big elephant in the room, a stubborn culture of underachievement. A continuing culture of academic under achievement calls into question among other things the quality of classroom instruction and appropriateness of human resources deployment. The critical questions that should always be asked and answered are how well are teachers teaching ? How well is the school climate (meaning how well are principals carrying out their managerial functions?) And lastly how well are students responding to the efforts of their teachers and actually taking the initiative to manage their own learning?
But before these questions are interrogated, certain basic things should also be met and put in place. Effectively tackling the big issue of raising academic achievement levels begins with managing the small, sometimes seemingly insignificant stuff. Well, there is a challenge of a failing economy, which has seriously compromised the ability to provide very basic tools enabling schools to function effectively. But in the face of precarious economic circumstances, the education system can still thrive and prosper if the right choices are made. It is crucially important for the education system to choose its battles wisely. The simple reason is that some battles are not worth fighting at this juncture and can wait and be prosecuted at a later stage when the economy is doing better. Knowing which battles to fight now and which ones can wait is a function of a good strategy.
The best and most effective strategy begins with tackling the small stuff. This means taking care of minor details to avoid serious and costly complications. If the business of teaching and learning is the life blood of the education system, then it should be easy to place a moratorium on less critical areas and commit and align resources to the most critical areas. Where every thing is a priority, nothing is a priority. For teaching to begin, there should be a teacher in every classroom. Not just a teacher but a strong and inspirational teacher. This is a non negotiable and incontrovertible fact. The presence of a teacher is an indispensable component in the teaching and learning process.
This is so true and indisputable taking into consideration the fact that the system is yet to build students’ capacity to stand on their own feet with less dependence on teachers. No matter what circumstances, there should not be a situation where the system’s ability to place a teacher in every class room is compromised.
Never and never again should the system find itself unable to adequately and appropriately deploy teachers. The absence of teachers means there cannot be any impactful interactions between students and the curriculum, if any. On the human resource front, the slogan should be a strong teacher in every classroom and a strong and inspirational school principal in every school. Schools without good leaders don’t succeed and so are schools without teachers who are not applying best pedagogical practices. There should be no compromise on the question of deployment of teachers and principals. Schools which are struggling on account of the school principal factor should be assisted.
The system should not relent in the exercise of scouting for principals well grounded on matters of school governance. For schools to succeed, community support should always be readily available. There is an urgent need to quickly restore public confidence in the education system. The absence of very basic and critical teaching and learning inputs does not inspire public confidence. Education is the people’s business and therefore schools cannot afford to escape the prying eyes of communities in which they are built. Getting the small details right can quickly improve the image of schools while attracting community support.
Every household has at least one child going to school in the morning and coming back every afternoon to give the family feedback on the state of affairs in the schools. We should collectively embark on the noble crusade of saving our schools if we are to secure the very future of our children. The education system must work and work well for all our children.
To save our schools, funds should be sought and secured from less critical areas not only within the relevant ministry but from other ministries as well. Every ministry, concerned with the plight of our children, should spare something for schools even if it means donating stationery to enable schools to run weekly and monthly tests to improve the frequency of assessment and student feedback. The challenges confronting the education system require a multi sectoral and dimensional approach. The relevant Ministry of Education should also take the lead in imposing some degree of belt tightening exercises into order to give priority to delivery of essentials to schools. Other things should stop so that the food issue receives some urgency. For many children, especially those coming from under privileged backgrounds, limited food supply in schools is a complete turn off. Some of the students who could have long deserted schools keep coming to class not because they are driven by a desire to learn but because there is something to eat at school.
From time immemorial, schools have been and continue to be in the fore front of the poverty alleviation agenda and therefore cannot suddenly afford the luxury of taking a back seat. Shortage of basic tools like desks, chairs, tables and stationery should be addressed with a great sense of urgency. But the overall health of a school in the final analysis rests on effective pedagogic practices.
Opportunities for continuing professional development should be created now and then. There should be a moratorium on training that is peripheral to the teaching process until the time the economy is ready to support additional endeavours. Training of teachers should not be thought in terms of external support. Schools already have model teachers who are doing well in their subject areas. Locally available expertise, which come with minimal costs could be sought and harnessed for the benefit of schools. Subject clusters, which kept schools going over the years, should be revived to create platforms for exchange of professional notes and experiences.
School principals should also work together to share managerial expertise. A dedicated body should be set up, which closely works with principals to motivate, support and close gaps identified. One way of saving the education is immediate application of the principle of subsidiary, which involves dispersing power to the regions and sub regions. Those who are working closely with schools are frustrated by decisions, which are taken by bodies insulated from the scene. Power dispersed is power increased. There are too many decisions on human resource deployment and control, which are centrally based. Regions and sub regions should have their fair share on decision making powers. This dispensation could ensure quick decisions are made to address issues of understaffing and over staffing, among others.
