By SYLVESTER MWALE –
AN imaginary story is currently circulating among secondary school pupils that many students did not do well in the 2014 grade 12 examinations because there was no leakage.
The relatively poor grade 12 results for 2014 have obviously sparked debate on what transpired, and who should shoulder the blame as well as what could be the possible remedy.
However, the debate appears to be devoid of the probable fact that the results could just be a true reflection of the input by pupils without examination malpractices which have been a hallmark of past grade 12 examinations in Zambia.
“The decline in the proportions of candidates obtaining school certificates, especially on Copperbelt is a serious concern to the public,” Education Minister Michael Kaingu said when he released the results recently.
“I, therefore, direct the Directorate of Standards and Curriculum to investigate what led to the decline in school certificate pass rate.”
A total of 66,971 candidates who sat for the 2014 Grade 12 examinations obtained school certificates out of 119,862 who sat for the exams.
Six provinces recorded a decrease in the proportion of candidates obtaining school certificates, with Copperbelt recording a sharp decrease from 60.2 per cent in 2013 to 43.9 per cent in 2014.
Of the 66,971 candidate who have obtained school certificates, 38,992 are boys while 27, 979 are girls.
The 119,862 candidates that sat for the exams represent an increase of 14.4 per cent compared to the 104,809 candidates that wrote in 2013.
Dr Kaingu said the pass rate had gone down from 60.21 per cent in 2013 to 55.87 per cent in 2014.
Could the poor exam results be attributed to teachers’ inertia, or is it that pupils have become a problem, or is it that the parents have failed to play their role in the education of their children?
While the minister is keen to discover what could have befallen the pupils, some education experts believe that the fall in the pass rate is a sign that efforts to thwart examination malpractices are bearing fruits.
“The ECZ (Examination Council of Zambia) have done a great job in preventing leakages in recent years particularly 2014 where pupils revised wrong papers thinking it was a leakage,” said Mundia Mwendende from the Curriculum Development Centre (CDC).
“In my opinion, these results reflect a true input that pupils put in without any leakage and we need to commend the ECZ.
Mr Mwendende noted that failure to comprehend questions due to illiteracy by the secondary school pupils could have also played a part in the low pass rate.
Paradoxically, there are various theories that have also been brought forward to explain the declining pass rate, although it is difficult to pinpoint at one factor as the major cause.
For instance, the recent ban of tuitions by the government, the adjustments of timetable for examinations by the ECZ have all been touted as the possible reason to the poor performance by pupils.
The poor performance has created a worrisome atmosphere and many would hope it is not the sign of the worst things to come.
The Sunday Times took time to talk to different stakeholders including pupils on their opinion and teachers’ unions on what could have caused the problem.
Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT), research director Christopher Yalukanda said poor performance was as a result of the Examination Council of Zambia (ECZ’s) decision to ban extra tuitions in schools.
Prior to the ban, many pupils especially those in boarding schools would remain behind after schools closed to get extra lessons in addition to the knowledge acquired in normal school.
“Extra tuitions provided a platform for pupils to have reinforcement of lessons undertaken in class, as a result, it contributed to improving their performance,” Mr Yalukanda said.
He noted that the decision to impose a wage freeze on public workers had also affected the teachers as they became de-motivated and lost commitment.
Professional Teachers Union of Zambia (PROTUZ) General Secretary Albert Muyembe attributed the poor pass rate to crowding in government schools.
“You may wish to know that most private schools performed far much better than government schools because of better learning environment,” Mr Muyembe said.
Bernard Chama, a resident in Lusaka said parents should also be blamed for the poor results because they have allowed pupils to play with phones at school at the expense of learning.
“Parents should be blamed for the poor results in allowing their children to spend most of their time on internet, phones and facebook,” said Mr Chama, a parent of a grade 12 pupil in Lusaka.
“These gadgets really have done more harm than good to the children.
That’s why the older generation boasts because they were not subjected to these things, and the useless so called children’s rights.”
Theresa Tembo blamed the poor performance on what she termed archaic syllabus as well as lack of adequate learning materials for pupils.
“If as a parent you don’t buy your children textbooks and other school materials then forget,” she said. “Your child will just be groping in the dark.”
She also noted that teachers were poorly trained and at times did not do enough to impart necessary knowledge in the pupils they were teaching.
Sydney Mulenga said modernity and human rights were being abused by some children, hence failure to do well in class.
“During our time we had general dance and variety shows, but nowadays we hear there are sex parties,” he said. “Parents too, please help the poor teachers to impart morals in your children otherwise standards are going down every year.”
The poor results call for retrospective action by all stakeholders to abate a future crisis in the country’s education system.
There are undoubtedly many factors that can affect academic performance including poor teaching and lack of education materials.
However, it is apparently indisputable that having few pupils passing on merit is better than having a great number of them whose qualifications have been aided by leakages and other examinations malpractices.
Education is an open experience in which many pupils are involved, and the probable solutions to poor academic performances are multi-varied, cross-linked and integral.
Assuming that the results reflect the real capabilities of the pupils, then the solution to poor performance is to read, read and read!
Additionally, it would also be significant that the solution focuses on broadening the involvement of all key stakeholders including parents and guardians.
The key stakeholders particularly parents should have the responsibility of helping the children to do away with things that are not adding any value to their education.
For instance, it would be certainly injudicious for pupils to spend most of the time chatting on facebook and other social media at the expense of studying.