The figures were embarrassing.
Pupils failed and their failure was loud enough for
the whole nation to notice.
Social media was full of ridicule for those
provinces which did not do well.
Copperbelt and Western Provinces have been the
shining examples in Grade seven, nine and twelve examinations.
But the results from last year’s exams have even
embarrassed the teachers.
“The results where embarrassing, we hope to change
the scenario in the coming years. As teachers, we promise to work hard and
change the image,” said Bernard Kamfuli the Headteacher at Mufulira Secondary
School during a meeting to discuss the performance of teachers in class.
With this confession in mind, education authorities
are now left with a huge question.
What went wrong?
Those charged with the responsibility of ensuring
that standards in the education system are enforced, have an idea of what
happened.
“I think we need to intensify the inspection of
teachers in schools. We also need to help our pupils grasp what they are taught
in class. I must say am disappointed with the results Copperbelt recorded but
we can do better,” said Copperbelt Provincial Education Officer Paul Ngoma at
the same meeting.
In order to avoid the report of the disastrous
school results, the Zambia government has since instituted a number of measures
to improve examination performance by pupils.
So far, a new strategy called the 16 Hour Policy is
being implemented.
The strategy forces pupils to spend one hour
studying after they knock off on a daily basis.
Teachers too are also forced to spend a further one
hour after classes in order for them to prepare their lesson plans.
This policy is being piloted in Mufulira District
on the Copperbelt.
“So far, the 16 Hour Policy is working well. Pupils
are having prep shortly after class and this gives them an opportunity to
revise what they have ust learnt. But we also need to check teachers and see how many lesson plans they had the whole term,” said Mufulira District Education
Standards Officer Henry Mwale.
The failure late in last year’s exams cannot be
solely blamed on the pupils.
A recently conducted survey by two
researchers shows that the quality of teachers and lecturers graduating from
the country’s 106 colleges and over 25 universities are some how below par.
The research, which sampled hundreds of students
from across Zambia, showed that the learners do not get the education needed
for them to pass and implement in their day to day life.
“We discovered that when we asked the pupils if
they were satisfied with what they were taught in class, most of them said no. Most of the learners do not think outside the box because we have not taught them adequately. So there is need for the teacher to be prepared too,” revealed Grace Chilekwa the lead researcher who is also the Principal
at Mufulira College of Education, an institution which is the premier trainer
of teachers on the Copperbelt.
In order to fight this inadequacy in the teaching
profession, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Ministry of
General Education have launched a K2.8 million program called IPECK.
IPECK stands for Improvement of Pedagogical Content
Knowledge among teachers and lecturers.
The program targets those who teach pupils and the
aim is to improve quality of what is being taught in class.
“Copperbelt and Western Provinces used to be the
provinces to watch. But now the results are bad. We hope that with the coming
of the Japanese, we will improve our record. Please teachers I urge you to
change your mindset and deliver,” said General Education Permanent Secretary
Henry Tukombe when he launched the program.
For the next five years, dozens of teachers and
lecturers from across the country will be retrained to sharpen their teaching
skills and in the end raise the pass rate.
Some Japanese experts in the education system are
already in the country and they have embarked on the capacity building for the
teachers and lecturers.
Currently, they are doing their activities at
Mufulira College of Education.
Hopefully, at the end of this year when pupils sit
for their exams, the pass rate on the Copperbelt and Western Province will go
up with the help of IPECK.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was aired as a documentary on Morning Live program on TV2 on 2nd February 2017 and on Newsline program on TV1 on 3rd February 2017. The documentary can be watched on this YouTube link: Copperbelt Poor Exam Results Documentary
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was aired as a documentary on Morning Live program on TV2 on 2nd February 2017 and on Newsline program on TV1 on 3rd February 2017. The documentary can be watched on this YouTube link: Copperbelt Poor Exam Results Documentary
Factual and very informative articles bro. Keep writing.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks bro
DeleteI want use this opportunity to tell the world what has really happened to me for past few months, I have been married for two years without a child i was so worried, I have visited several hospitals and I was told i can't not conceive because i was having fibroid, I have been treated and even undergoes cloistral operation but still couldn't conceive until One day i came across Lillian Testimony on a guest book she was sharing the same problem exactly what is happening to me how Dr,,Miracle has cure his Fibroid, immediately i contacted him and told him about my Problem and he gave me hope that i should not be worried at all that he has cure more people already having same problem and said he can cure me under 8 weeks i was amaze. I Believe in him because he was the only hope and i followed him up he prepared me some herbs and send it to me in my state. I started using the herbs with his prescriptions, as i was taking the herbs i started noticing some changes in my body, to cut everything short i missed my period and today i have a child baby girl, My husband is so much happy and my mum too God. Thank you Dr,,Miracle I can't just keep this to my self i decided to share and post it here on-line for everyone to see that the work Of God In My Life True His Son Dr,,Miracle God Bless Doctor And More Grace To His Work, Email Him miraclespellhome@yahoo.com Call Or Whatsapp Him +2348071398555 ,,
ReplyDelete