Repeaters are no failures, says Education PS

THE Ministry of Education has appealed to the public not to call pupils who repeat grades as ‘failures’ because they will accept that and refuse to make an extra effort for promotion.

Education Permanent Secretary Vitalis Ankama said children whom people regard as failures get their resolve to move forward killed. On the other hand, Ankama said, if the Ministry allowed pupils to keep repeating the same grades over and over, it would cost the Government too much.He was responding to recent criticism that the high failure rate in Grades 10 and 12 was partly due to the automatic promotion of pupils in some junior grades.Ankama said students who repeat and those promoted automatically were supposed to be given more attention and their progress monitored to avoid more failures.”The policy also states that schools should give extra classes in the afternoon (also called compensatory teaching) to learners who repeat and those who continue to be promoted,” he said.He said the 1999 Presidential Commission on Education suggested that parents be consulted before children were promoted or told to repeat their classes.”If they (parents) feel that a learner will not benefit by being promoted to the next grade, the learners can then be allowed to repeat,” he said.He said the Ministry was aware of the weaknesses of the education system and thus came up with the 15-year strategic plan called Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (Etsip).Etsip outlines education priorities over the next 15 years and how authorities intend to improve the service.”What our education system needs is improvement, especially the strengthening of the schools inspectorate, school management and supervision, the training of teachers and the unequal distribution of educational resources in rural areas,” Ankama said.The Ministry came under fire last week for poor planning as overcrowded schools turned away many children.Education Minister Nangolo Mbumba pleaded with parents to be patient, as his officials were working around the clock to find places in schools for children.Mbumba said there had been a huge influx into the main towns and they were swamped with Grade One, Eight and Ten pupils looking for places, while schools in rural areas experienced the opposite.caption Vitalis AnkamaOn the other hand, Ankama said, if the Ministry allowed pupils to keep repeating the same grades over and over, it would cost the Government too much.He was responding to recent criticism that the high failure rate in Grades 10 and 12 was partly due to the automatic promotion of pupils in some junior grades.Ankama said students who repeat and those promoted automatically were supposed to be given more attention and their progress monitored to avoid more failures.”The policy also states that schools should give extra classes in the afternoon (also called compensatory teaching) to learners who repeat and those who continue to be promoted,” he said.He said the 1999 Presidential Commission on Education suggested that parents be consulted before children were promoted or told to repeat their classes.”If they (parents) feel that a learner will not benefit by being promoted to the next grade, the learners can then be allowed to repeat,” he said.He said the Ministry was aware of the weaknesses of the education system and thus came up with the 15-year strategic plan called Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (Etsip).Etsip outlines education priorities over the next 15 years and how authorities intend to improve the service.”What our education system needs is improvement, especially the strengthening of the schools inspectorate, school management and supervision, the training of teachers and the unequal distribution of educational resources in rural areas,” Ankama said.The Ministry came under fire last week for poor planning as overcrowded schools turned away many children.Education Minister Nangolo Mbumba pleaded with parents to be patient, as his officials were working around the clock to find places in schools for children.Mbumba said there had been a huge influx into the main towns and they were swamped with Grade One, Eight and Ten pupils looking for places, while schools in rural areas experienced the opposite. caption Vitalis Ankama