The Sunday News
THE controversial issue of holiday lessons is once more upon us as we draw closer to public examinations that begin in October. What is disappointing though is that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has over the years failed to take a convincing position on the issue. It has left many bewildered whether schools are free to hold the lessons or not. This is because we have been receiving conflicting statements from the ministry officials on the issue and to worsen the situation the ministry has failed to take decisive action against those conducting the lessons.
It is against this background that we call upon the ministry to come out clean on the issue. However, from our position we find it interesting that although the Ministry of Education has been lambasting the schools from left, right and centre for conducting holiday lessons, the lessons are gaining popularity by the day. So is this not time for the ministry to be reasonable on the issue and formalise these lessons, which are now operating like a black market? If the lessons are formalised then it would be easier for the ministry to regulate them.
Elsewhere in this edition we carry a story following a survey we conducted that a number of schools in Bulawayo, Matabeleland South and Midlands provinces have set out a two-week holiday lessons calendar which starts tomorrow. The schools will be charging between $10 and $20 per subject for O and A-level pupils, while some offer boarding facilities which cost more.
The move by the schools seems to be in direct defiance to a directive by the Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Professor Paul Mavhima, who recently told our sister paper, Chronicle, that all schools must observe and follow the school calendar.
“Our current position is that pupils should be given time to rest after being in school for three months,” Prof Mavhima was quoted as saying.
He said schools that would conduct holiday lessons should be reported.
However, it seems there is no clear position from the ministry regarding the issue as the Permanent Secretary of Education Dr Sylvia Utete-Masango declined comment on the imminent defiance the holiday lessons ban was facing referring all questions to Prof Mavhima.
Last year, the Government banned holiday lessons saying they were being abused by teachers who were no longer teaching during the course of the term and were treating the lessons as a money-making scheme.
It is this lack of clarity on the issue that we are not happy about. Although we feel there is an element of abuse on the part of schools and teachers as in some instances their fees are exorbitant with some asking for as much as $30 per subject from O-level candidates we believe these lessons are now a necessary evil that we cannot do without.
It seems the parents have seen the impact that they have and that is the reason why they continue sacrificing their hard earned cash so that their children get good grades at the end of the day. In fact parents expect to see their children sweating it out during the holidays so that come the time for the release of the results next year they would be all smiles instead of wearing forlorn and haggard faces.
Through the holiday lessons it seems parents have also seen value as some of the centres draw teachers and pupils from different schools in the process creating an academy of some sort and that is attractive to a parent who wants his or her child to score excellent results. Today’s parents are taking the education of their children very seriously, they have realised that for their children to get places at either high schools or universities they should score good grades because of the level of competition for the places.
What the Ministry of Education should realise also is that the parents are aware of the lost time the current generation of pupils suffered as it is this group of children that was left exposed when teachers left en masse for the so-called greener pastures before the dollarisation of the economy in 2009. So by taking their children for holiday lessons they believe they would be plugging the gap.
With the ranking of schools through the public examinations, schools are also fighting for the crown and there is no head who wants to be the laughing stock hence the holding of the holiday lessons to improve results or maintain the good image of the school.
