The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu Senior Reporter
GRADE Seven pupils in the country who will soon be examined in agriculture will be complete pupils who are in line with the country’s educational strategies as outlined in the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation economic blueprint, an educationist has said.
The Provincial Education Director for Bulawayo province, Mr Dan Moyo, told the Sunday News that agriculture had been introduced to the syllabus and would change the lives of pupils for the better.
“Grade Seven pupils will now be examined for agriculture which is now the fifth subject in their curriculum and it will be taught from Grade Four onwards. It is a compulsory subject now and is set to bring a difference unlike before when it was included here and there in Environmental Science,” said Mr Moyo.
He said primary schools in the province had received the new syllabus and started working on it already, with the aim of giving pupils an appreciation of agriculture from a young age.
Before, pupils were learning English Language, Mathematics, General Paper and a native language spoken in that particular area and now a fifth subject has been added to augment the four.
The deputy director for education in Matabeleland North Province, Mr Mathias Luphahla, also confirmed the move, saying it was a step forward in advancing the education of primary school learners in the country.
“Yes agriculture has been introduced to the schools and some of the learners are yet to start lessons on it. The aim is to educate the child about where his or her food is coming from and then they have a wholesome kind of appreciation of what is essential in primary education,” he said.
Mr Luphahla said in light of the successful land reform programme it was imperative that agriculture was introduced from as early as Grade Four so as to train the pupils on the importance of agriculture in their day-to-day lives. He also said educating the child in agriculture studies from primary school would change the farming landscape in Zimbabwe.
When asked about the capacity to teach agriculture in the schools, Mr Luphahla said Government was established in terms of teaching staff so there were no adverse challenges at the moment.
“Teachers come from college trained well enough in this and again they have been teaching Environmental Science before so it is no challenge at all to them as they are equipped,” he said.
Government says technical studies should be respected so as to churn out an academically and technically sound learner.
The Minister of State for Liaising on Psychomotor Activities in Education, Cde Josiah Hungwe, was on a tour of the country’s provinces to have an appreciation on the state of technical workshops in various schools, where he noted some areas that needed attention.
Cde Hungwe is also on record saying psychomotor skills would bring in a pupil who is able to empower themselves through the use of his or her hands and not necessarily seeking employment as they work for themselves.
The secretary for education in the Zanu-PF Politburo and former Education Minister, Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, said pupils that are both academically and technically equipped were better achievers.
“When a child at a tender age is introduced to technical subjects coupled with academic studies, they are a better person who will be able to apply the technical side of what they learnt and earn a living,” he said.
Dr Ndlovu said it was of paramount importance to have children as young as Grade Four learning about agriculture as the country’s economy was agro-based, hence the move augured well for the situation and the need to raise pupils with sound psychomotor skills.
Psychomotor learning is the relationship between cognitive functions and physical movement. Psychomotor skills are demonstrated by physical skills such as movement, co-ordination, manipulation, dexterity, grace, strength and speed.
Dr Ndlovu said raising academic giants alone was not enough as the technical side of life also had to play a part in the upbringing of pupils, saying they were able to empower themselves and be entrepreneurs who would take agriculture to a new level.
Looking back at the colonial era, Dr Ndlovu said pupils that were found on the wrong were taken to school gardens as a form of punishment as agriculture was looked down upon but now this had changed as it was now a vital source of survival.
