Brighton Muronzereyi
PROGRESSIVE Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) says shortage of resources has negatively affected the implementation of the new curriculum in schools.
In a statement, PTUZ secretary general Raymond Majongwe said the country was still lagging behind in terms of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) penetration in remote areas since the introduction of the new curriculum five years ago.
Majongwe added that the acquisition of technological skills remains a pipe-dream for most learners and teachers.
“Some schools are still not equipped with technology five years after the curriculum was activated, and there is a need to train teachers on syllabus interpretation. The assumption that all is well has actually sunk the education sector,” said Majongwe.
He said the macro-economic environment prevailing in the country also made it difficult for the country to achieve its target of digitalising the whole education sector.
“ICT penetration in schools has gone down, even those schools with the equipment can no longer afford to pay for internet with online learning, contrived as a panacea for learning difficulties, can only be afforded by a miniscule proportion of the learner and teacher population,” he said, adding the cost of data bundles was “way beyond the affordability levels even for parents and guardians”.
The union, however, commended the Education ministry for conducting radio and TV lessons for the new curriculum and its commitment to partner developmental agencies.
“The ministry also partnered with Unicef on a free online learning platform called Learning Passport and a lot still needs to be done as the platform has not been advertised widely enough and most learners and teachers are not aware of the platform,” Majongwe added.
“They have in a way bridged the knowledge gap during the holidays and lockdowns necessitated by Covid-19. However, by and large, these have had limited impact due to the limited broadcast partners as well as their limited broadcast zones. Some areas of the country have problems with both radio and TV reception.”
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary School launched the new curriculum in 2017 and will be reviewed in Harare today by the ministry.