This is a three part series of articles which discusses how teachers, government and parents are entangled in a three-person protagonist dance of old that is systematically destroying the future of learners in schools. The three constitute an unholy trinity that conspires year after year in contributing to the low performance of learners in schools. Sadly none is prepared to shoulder the responsibility and blame.
Instead, each protagonist sits ensconced in their armchair pointing an accusatory finger at another. It is now well known that the Botswana Examinations Council (BEC) has released the 2014 Junior Certificate Examination (JCE) results. The news are not good ÔÇô they are in fact tragic. Lives of young people have overnight turned to naught purely because of the bickering and finger pointing of the teachers, government and the parents. The results show that 40 559 candidates wrote the examination. For the first time in a while two candidates got a Merit. 367 (0.9%) candidates obtained Grade A while 4 007 (9.9%) candidates were able to get Grade B.
The number of candidates with Grade C is 9 669 (23.8%) while 12 914 (31.8%) candidates attained Grade D. 6 201 (15.3%) candidates were awarded Grade E while 6 395 (15.77%) candidates obtained Grade U. Brief commentary: 14 045 (34.63%) candidates have been awarded Grade C or better. This means that 65.4% students failed, i.e. obtained Grade D and worse. As a nation we have a 65.4% failure rate. In a normal environment, this should be scandalous. There would be an outcry! Heads would roll. Somebody would lose their job. There would be an emergency conference to resolve this tragic situation. However, ours is a most abnormal environment. No heads would roll. Parents will look with disinterest. Teachers will blame government and government will point a finger at the teachers and the unions and then the status quo will continue. The results are so bad that if you put together all the students who obtained Grades A, B and C together, they are almost as many as those who got Grade D. 14,043 (34.6%) students attained Grades A, B and C while 12,914 (31.8%) attained Grade D.
In this column I look at how teachers are responsible for this mess. Teachers are an interesting bunch. Supported by their strong unions, teachers have been largely absolved of any responsibility in learners’ failure or better still, they have absolved themselves from the mess. They have largely been perceived as victims of government brutality, poor work conditions and poor salaries. None has properly shone a light on the contribution of teachers to student failure rate. Such talk has been almost taboo. But let us attempt to walk where angels fear to tread and illuminate corners which hitherto had evaded a spotlight. Usually when students pass with flying colours teachers take the credit for students’ great performance. That’s my girl!
That’s my good boy! And yet when a student fails, then it is customarily the fault of a student with a dull head or the responsibility of their absent or disinterested parent. This seems odd. Why should teachers only receive commendation when learners pass and then evade reproach when they fail? We are aware that because of the battle between the teacher unions and government, many teachers have suspended remedial classes. Many do not take part in extramural activities. Oh yes, government has played unfairly in this battle but the teachers themselves have in the past taken a decision to inflict harm on the learners by withholding labour. I understand the argument that teachers have a right to do so. Equally, learners have a right to quality education and support.
Their education harm is in most cases irrevocable. What we must say is that it is obvious that the learner has become a porn in the chess movement between the teachers and government. The learner has become an important bargaining tool. The teacher punishes the learner by ensuring learner failure, so that government will pause and pay attention to the demands of the teacher. The learner is therefore an important bargaining chip in the hands of the teacher. As long as the child passes and succeeds in their studies, the teacher is weakened in his demands for better salaries and working conditions from the employer. That is why many in the teaching profession explain students’ poor results in terms of teacher disgruntlement. “If teachers’ working conditions and hours of work were resolved, we wouldn’t have this high failure rate” they argue.
We must also admit that not all teachers are good at what they do. Many are incredibly talent while many are a disaster. Trust me I know what I am talking about. I am a teacher. There are many teachers in schools who do a bare minimum. Almost every student or former student has a horrific story to tell about a bad teacher or a bad former teacher. Bad teachers, like good ones are memorable. I remember one bad teacher, name withheld, who taught me Mathematics at JC. She always remarked: “A motho o a ithuta kgotsa ga a ithute nna ke a amogela”. There are many teachers in schools whose interest in their work is pathetic. They lack creativity and passion.
They come to class unprepared. They talk on the phone in class and chew on a chewing gum in the most animated manner. Such teachers have an unenviable name of bomajesa. Behind them, they have left skeletons of failures and disinterested students on their paths. I am therefore compelled that the argument that teachers cannot be held responsible for student failure, cannot be sustained. Just as they contribute to students’ academic success, when students fail, we must look at teachers critically and determine the role they have played in contributing to student failure. They would not gladly receive such criticism, however they need to hear it so that they can critically reflect on their contribution to the academic future of learners. Next week I consider the responsibility of government in contributing to students’ failure rate.
