Zimpapers Logo

Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Professor Jonathan Moyo

Nqobile Tshili Chronicle Correspondent
HIGHER and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo has urged teachers deployed in rural areas to adapt to life in their communities in order to improve pass rates. The Tsholotsho North MP visited schools in his constituency last Friday and engaged teachers at several secondary schools.

He expressed shock upon learning that Zibungululu Secondary School had gone for five years with no single candidate passing Ordinary Level public examinations, until only one pupil managed to pass five subjects last year.

Teachers cited long distances of about 20km to and from school endured by pupils as one of the reasons leading to poor pass rates. They also said their schools did not have adequate teaching materials.

Most of the schools do not have science laboratories resulting in pupils missing out on the Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics initiative being spearheaded by Prof Moyo’s ministry. After listening to teachers’ concerns, Prof Moyo said he was committed to improving learning conditions for pupils through building low cost boarding facilities for children travelling long distances.

He promised to supply schools with mathematics textbooks as well as calculators so that they improve grades in the subject. Prof Moyo, however, challenged teachers to be more innovative and work around the tough conditions.

“You can’t be a meaningful agent of change if you don’t adapt to the dynamics on the ground. It’s a fact that the students who come to these schools come from here. These are Tsholotsho kids, it also a fact that their teachers most of them are not from here. We understand that it’s a profession, it’s a national asset, they’re professional people, and it doesn’t matter where they come from. But what frustrates the communities is the lack of adaptation to address the conditions that they find here in order to get the results that they need,” said Prof Moyo.

He said when pupils fail it reflects badly on teachers as no one will focus on their mentioned conditions. Prof Moyo said teachers need to be innovative and understand the varied conditions of areas they work from. He said schools should be centres for development but in Tsholotsho North that was not the case.

“Cultural ways, levels of development language and so forth. Teachers get deployed to these diverse communities of society. It doesn’t help them to get into those communities and take a textbook approach. You’ve got to understand the underlying dynamics of that community and adapt your knowledge to those dynamics,” said Prof Moyo.