Thomas Barkley
This is a hotly debated topic that often divides opinion, and I think every student thinks about this and asks, why don’t they teach us about important topics like how to make money and how to manage it, how to manage time, how to be patient, critical thinking skills, and being creative?
The education system is really failing us and really needs improvement. Please understand that they do teach some life skills, but they don’t go into as much detail as they could.
I was a good learner during my school days. I was always in the top five in my class. I was the teacher’s favourite from primary school to high school, and that’s a real feather in my cap.
Despite the fact that I had good grades in class, I didn’t really understand or remember what I learned. I just memorise things temporarily to answer the questions in tests and exams, but then forget them on my way out of the classroom.
My success in school was not because I truly understood the material; by memorising, I would get good grades without showing so much energy. Which means even though I may not know more than others, I will still achieve a higher grade, which reflects a flaw in our educational system.
A lot of the so-called bright learners have mastered the system to their advantage too, without truly being educated.
Although the curriculum has been recently revised, in my opinion, it still remains below standard. It focuses on memorisation and repetition rather than understanding the work and applying what you learned in real life. We see this in graduates, especially those who have been hunting for jobs for so many years. During interviews, they often find it difficult to remember answers because our educational system focuses on memorisation over true understanding.
Most of them struggle to recall information correctly or use it effectively in practical situations; this perpetuates a cycle of high unemployment rates and results in a high crime rate, which subsequently results in many taking their lives out of frustration and fear of not being successful.
Instead of focusing on memorisation, I suggest education should emphasise critical thinking and applying knowledge in real-life situations.
To be honest, our poor education system can be held responsible for the high employment rate in the country.
Many young graduates are not equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to enter the workforce and create their own jobs, and when young people are unable to apply what they have learned in a class to real life situations, they are less likely to succeed in the job market and keep up with the rising standard of living.
In my humble opinion, without being sentimental, of course, or offending anyone who thinks differently from my point of view, but also by looking into this matter from a distinctive perspective, I would like to say our educational system is ugly, is a devil in disguise.
Last year, over 30 000 learners were sent to the streets; this year, another 30 000 learners have been sent to the streets. That’s now over 60 000 learners in the streets. We can’t continue watching our futures and country’s being destroyed by people who have no interest in us.
All of the previous and current educational systems have directly disadvantaged us. In our current educational system, grades are often used as the sole measure of intelligence and access to higher education, which is not fair as everyone has their own unique attributes. One might be bad at biology and entrepreneurship but good at assembling things, which means there’s no accounting for taste.
What can be done in order to improve the situation?
I’ll say the solution will be to introduce more vocational training schools in the country. But with limited resources and corruption in the country, this is easier said than done. Firstly, vocational training centres teach practical skills to people who are willing to go out there and apply what they learned in class to earn a living — no memorising, but mastering.
Vocational schools teach practical skills for specific careers like pipe fittings, joinery, and plumbing. Learning by doing means that in vocational education, students focus on practical skills rather than just learning theory. They spend a lot of time practising the skills they will need for their future jobs. This hands-on approach helps them gain the knowledge and abilities they need to be successful in their future jobs.
By including work experience as part of their studies, students can graduate with valuable experience that will make them more prepared for their future jobs.
Today, we have a lot of graduates from the so-called biggest institutions in the country who don’t have jobs. Vocational technical centres may be underrated, but they have more practical work on learning than most universities. With a qualification from the vocational school, one can still earn a living through self-employment, starting a business, and not just sit home and wait on the government because one was trained to be another teacher but the government is not building another school.
In addition, vocational technical centres can help students who didn’t do well in high school improve their skills; not everyone has a good memory after all. Vocational school courses are cheaper and are a good choice for students who want to improve our economy. Producing and assembling a few things will prevent us from importing and everything, including simple things like matches.
There is a real need for vocational technical centres in our county. I’m glad there are, even though they are limited in number, the likes of Valombola, Rundu, and KAYEC to mention a few.
Parents and society must be open to change and adapt to new, more effective teaching methods. Without overcoming resistance to change, progress in education will be slow and substandard. Black parents should stop underestimating the significance of vocational schools; they are just as significant as universities.
Limited resources, especially in rural areas, can also be pointed to as a reason why our educational system is such a flop. We have thousands of learners who have to study under the trees and walk long distances to and from school in a country with a population of three million and a variety of resources.
Social activist Michael Amushelelo once said, “There must be a law introduced to force all government officials, including the president, to make use of State facilities. If their children start going to A Shipena Secondary School, the system will change overnight. We must call for the resignation of Ester Anna Nghipondoka as minister of education. These people are nothing but liars; there is no free education as promised, and now our children’s lives are being played with. Enough is enough.”
I’m in total agreement, and he can say that again!
*Thomas Barkley is a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science student at Unam.