Schools to recite national pledge, as teachers hail Minister over salaries

31 Jan, 2016 - 00:01 0 Views

The Sunday News

TEACHERS have hailed the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Dr Lazarus Dokora, for setting the record straight on the purported proposal to dock salaries from non-performing teachers.

Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president Mr Takavafira Zhou yesterday told Sunday News that teachers countrywide were fighting in the same corner with their Minister Dr Dokora who he said has done a lot to improve the country’s education system.

The teachers however, accused the Civil Service Commission of creating an unconducive working environment for teachers in the country through regular visits to schools.

“What Dr Dokora did was to pronounce the official position and we commend that. What he is, however, not aware of is that there are some people who are working hard to impede the progress he envisages in the education sector. In addition, teachers are facing a lot of frustrations at the hands of officials from the CSC, most of whom have no idea how the education system functions and we are saying our minister should come in and protect educators,” said Mr Zhou.

Recently, there was a purported government statement circulating on social media and sent to newspapers, including Sunday News, which claimed that teachers who produced below 50 percent pass rate at Grade 7 and O-level would be docked a three-months salary, something which was dismissed as a “cruel hoax” by Minister Dokora.

“Those claims that found their way into national newspapers are disgusting and without foundation at all . . . As far as the ministry is concerned, we have not received any official communication to the effect that teachers’ salaries will be cut or discontinued during holidays. The same article makes reference to the teacher-pupil ratio which is not congruent with the ministry’s position. If anything, the teacher pupil ratio has been adjusted in favour of the teachers at infant level as it now stands at 1:25 from Early Childhood Development (ECD) to Grade Two,” the Minister said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry has introduced a National Schools Pledge which school children and teachers in all schools around the country are expected to recite before starting lessons. This is part of the implementation of the first phase of the curriculum review programme.

Public relations officer in the ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Mr Patrick Zumbo told Sunday News, in an interview on Friday that the pledge will take effect at the beginning of next term. Pupils at infant school will recite the following pledge: “Almighty God, in whose hands our future lies, I salute the national flag, I commit to honesty and dignity of hard work.”

In Junior and secondary schools, pupils will recite, “Almighty God, in whose hands our future lies, I salute the national flag. Respecting the brave fathers and mothers who lost lives in the Chimurenga/Umvukela.

“We are proud inheritors of the richness of our natural resources. We are proud creators and participants in our vibrant traditions and cultures. So I commit to honesty and the dignity of hard work.”

Mr Zumbo said the pledge was part of the new curriculum’s thrust to motivate pupils to cherish their Zimbabwean identity and value their heritage, history and cultural traditions, as well as preparing and orienting them for participation in voluntary service and leadership.

“We are going to hold a national launch first and on the first day of next term all schools will be expected to ensure that pupils and teachers recite the pledge every morning before lessons start. Just as pupils recite the Lord’s prayers and then sing the National Anthem every morning during assembly, the pupils will also be expected to recite the national pledge.

“Those words in the pledge were taken from the national constitution of 2013 and each time children will recite the pledge. It will make them appreciate the crux of the country’s supreme law. The pledge will help instill patriotism in children, a component that was lacking in the previous curriculum. We envisage an education system which produces graduates that are patriotic, loyal and owe allegiance to their country,” he said.

Mr Zumbo said the idea to introduce the pledge came out of wide consultation during the curriculum review programme.

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education embarked on the curriculum review programme last year, holding consultative meetings in all parts of the country, with over 900 000 people having been consulted during the process.

All the 8 179 primary and secondary schools in the country were turned into consultation centres where stakeholders were invited to give their input on the curriculum review exercise, input which was then synthesised into a draft curriculum review framework.

Cabinet approved the draft curriculum review in September last year, heralding an avalanche of changes to the country’s learning programme. The new education curriculum framework emphasises on strengthening of Science, Technology, Mathematics, Vocational Studies, Humanities and Heritage studies, areas that would be made compulsory at all levels in the learning process.

Mathematics and Science have since become central in the country’s education, with the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development announcing last week that pupils who would opt to do Science subjects and Mathematics at A-level will this year get scholarships from Government.

 

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