Deo T. Kabwende
6 February 2008
opinion
Over the years, the government has pursued an ambitious policy of enforcing science subjects in a bid to boost the move towards industrialisation. However, the results on the ground doesn't match the ambition.
In the first place, it's demanding too much of students to expect them to perform well in sciences without the necessary training infrastructure. Sciences as opposed to arts, are subjects that require practical exposure in order to solve problems. But with very few schools across the country having equipped laboratories, students can't be blamed for performing poorly in sciences.
The other aspect lacking in our education system is the failure by teachers to effectively assess students other than through examinations. As such students study to pass exams rather than enhancing their knowledge.
Given the perceived difficulty involved in studying sciences, it would mean that persons who are naturally gifted in science would be the ones excelling not only in exams, but also in conceptualisation. Thus before students sit for their O'level exams, teachers should be able to advise them which subjects to register for depending on their progressive assessments. This would ensure that students sit for subjects they are best at.
During our primary school days, we had students who were always leading others in certain subjects. They could even challenge a teacher in certain aspects to show their knowledge in specific areas. It was never difficult for teachers to deduce that such and such a child seems best suited for a particular subject. Teachers must be able to read children's minds and abilities early enough so as to advise them on future courses to go for.
Another cause of poor performance in sciences is parents' insistence on their children to study subjects they are not gifted in. I know of a parent who forced his son to study PCB because he was ready to sponsor him at university if he scored minimum university entry points. Such a student without science orientation may never be very successful in a science-biased profession. This could be the reason why we have doctors forgetting scissors in women's wombs; engineers building houses that collapse; lawyers taking bribes etc. Everyone must do subjects for which they best understand.
While attending a friend's graduation party recently, I met one of her colleagues and asked her what she studied. The girl told me she did education and was awarded a degree of Makerere University. I asked her what job she was doing and she told me that she was doing business, having taught for a couple of months and later realising that it wasn't her calling.
So you can see. Lecturers spend much time training teachers that never want to teach, doctors that never have interest in medicine, engineers that hate field work, journalists that dread newsrooms and agriculturalists who want to sit in offices! It's high time we tailored our education according to children's natural abilities, interest and natural gifting.
The writer mass communication and public relations professional
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