By RABECCA CHIPANTA –
GOVERNMENT has challenged District Education Board Secretaries (DEBS) on the Copperbelt to ensure that examination results improve in the province.
Addressing stakeholders at an indaba held in Ndola, General Education Minister, John Phiri said the results recorded in the province showed that there was little teaching and learning, adding that drastic measures needed to be taken by both provincial and district leaders in the education sector.
Dr Phiri questioned how the province had dropped in ranking from number five in 2013 to number 10 in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
“There is cause to celebrate the high achievements recorded by some schools but there is need to candidly review the performance of the bottom 51 schools. It is obvious that there is a lot of work to be done on the Copperbelt Province. What we hear are unnecessary noises which do not add value to the education sector in the province,” he said.
He said there was need for the ministry to work in collabor
ation with provinces on the current status of education and chart the way forward.
“We demand from the provincial, district and school levels much more effort if we are going to see positive changes. The onus is on you to deliver,” he said.
Commenting on the confusion experienced during last year’s Grade Nine Information Communication and Technolo
gy (ICT) exams, Dr Phiri said he would not tolerate a repeat of the problem pupils faced last year and appealed to teachers to incorporate the subject in the curriculum even without adequate equipment.
Meanwhile Dr Phiri said there was need for his ministry to think outside the box with regards to education of pupils with special needs.
“I do not have to look at the performance of the deaf as this has been totally ignored. The plight of the deaf will be under scrutiny and no child with special education needs shall pay examination fees,” he said.
Dr Phiri cautioned the teachers in attendance to stay away from partisan politics and urged those wishing to join politics to resign from the profession.
“For you to sufficiently and effectively contribute to the education process you must be professionally well grounded.
“Partisan politics will ruin you. Concentrate on your core business which is teaching. Do not create unnecessary problems for yourselves and the system,” he said.
