Sunday, 14 September 2014 22:02
Third term for primary and secondary schools kicked off last week.
Patronage at many places of
entertainment is less than usual lately, perhaps because many parents
take the burden of paying fees seriously. Come October, the
accountability process kicks off in earnest beginning with senior four
exams, then the primary leaving examinations early in November, followed
by the A-levels.
For many parents, expectations are
straightforward! Get to school, put your head down and work for an
excellent grade in the end-of-year examinations.
The P7 candidates will possibly be
exposed to three or four full sets of past examination papers every
week, until D-day! Have a thought for these 12- or 13-year-old kids!
Each examinations set takes up 10 hours –that is 30 hours a week of
working individually and silently in an exam room prepping for the PLE!
Superman qualities indeed! I do not know many adults that can manage
such a schedule.
For the older students in secondary
school, it is not as gruelling but the schedule is equally stressful. If
they have committed teachers, the average candidate may find themselves
with no personal time left since such teachers take up entire evening
prep times in addition to newly-created lesson times.
For every candidate student, February is
the dreaded month because that is when the Uneb results are released.
The ‘good child’ is one who has passed examinations – and with a super
first grade if in primary. The ‘excellent child’ is the one who has made
it into the newspapers!
That is our narrow way of defining the ‘goodness of a child’ in Uganda!
That is our narrow way of defining the ‘goodness of a child’ in Uganda!
In the UK, an MP, Jesse Norman, newly
appointed to their prime minister’s policy advisory board, recently
annoyed head teachers. An Old Etonian (old boy of Eton School), he
claims that the reason old students of his school dominate the UK
government is because they are groomed for leadership.
He asserts that, “Other schools don’t
have the same commitment to public service…” and that, “… the pupils
really do run vast chunks of the school.”
His view is that many schools do other things instead of the important leadership opportunities plus “rhetoric, poetry and public speaking and performance (that) are incredibly important to young people succeeding in life.”
His view is that many schools do other things instead of the important leadership opportunities plus “rhetoric, poetry and public speaking and performance (that) are incredibly important to young people succeeding in life.”
He may have a point! Last week, youths
who were collecting signatures on the streets to form an unemployed
people’s association were arrested for their efforts. As we await
results of the newly-conducted census, it is estimated that we may have
about 80 per cent of our youths with no work.
Surely, many of these unemployed youths
may have experienced the gruelling PLE plus the stressful O and A-Level
examinations. Some may also be graduates!
So, where do we get it wrong? My niece
completed university in June, having studied a ‘to-die-for’ popular and
‘expensive’ course! Unfortunately for the entire family, she will have
nothing to do with what she has studied. Ironically, her time at
university has left her disillusioned!
She had great hopes at the beginning of
the course but now, at graduation time, none of her peers talks of work.
Most want a deal that may land them a car plus other luxuries, and
within six weeks of graduation.
On the one hand, we have high-flying
graduates who leave university hating their professions and, on the
other, we have unemployed youths who also experienced the tough demands
of our education system!
Consequently, parents must redefine the
good child or student! The ability to pass national examinations, though
crucial, should only be one of the requirements but not the end in
itself.
As you return your children to school
for this final term of the year, demand that they should be able to
read, comprehend and engage with complex texts. Insist that they should
write an essay recommending what can be done to improve their local
society’s livelihood. They should have taken up at least one leadership
opportunity by end of term.
Ask if they have addressed a school
assembly or led a group community service project. They must also be
amiable and considerate of others’ needs. Finally, check that in the 12
weeks your children have spent away from you, they are polite and able
to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’!
Most children who have had the above
opportunities will apply themselves to creative and productive projects
instead of registering an unemployed people’s association.
osm@kigothinkers.org
The author is one of the founding Kigo Thinkers.
osm@kigothinkers.org
The author is one of the founding Kigo Thinkers.
