ZIMSEC O Level English Language Paper 2 November 2018

Read the following

Zimbabwe Needs To Be A Nation Of Thinkers And Doers

1. Our government is clearly set on a reconstruction and development course that has at its core, the quantitative and qualitative improvement in educational provision. The nation's greatest resource is its human element. We therefore, need to develop the youths' immense potential and harness it for the future manpower needs of Zimbabwe. The learners we educate are the future of Zimbabwe and we must tailor their education to service the needs of this country. Therefore, we need to make our curriculum uniquely relevant to our own unique situation.

2. We have so far witnessed a massive expansion in education, particularly in the secondary sector. Such unprecedented expansion was unknown in our country and more is in store for us.

3. However, an increase in numbers alone will not achieve the desired effect. Government holds the view that education must service all sectors of the economy by developing a wide variety of intellectual, social, economic, technical and agricultural skills that are not only saleable and employable in agriculture, commerce, industry, mining, and scientific research but are characterised by a high enterprise capacity that will see the country fully utilising our inherited natural resources. For education to be relevant, it must develop the capacity to produce youths who are academically and practically equipped to man all sectors of our economy. A look at our past and present scenarios will help to underline the significance of our new thrust. Thousands of youths have pursued an academic type of education. True, some have been able to weave their way into various companies and organisations but the majority have ended up jobless and even helpless after graduating at various exit points. They have a lot of irrelevant academic knowledge without expertise in technical, vocational and scientific fields.

4. We have a serious situation today where our youths are engrossed in the belief that employment opportunities for them only exist outside the country. Indeed, these youths have the capacity to create employment within the country but the intellectually biased education they received made them feel incompetent. It should be noted that political independence without economic independence is useless. It is therefore, of vital importance for us to control our own economy. We therefore, cannot afford to waste our human resources by continuing to give our youths an irrelevant and one-sided education that only emphasises on intellectual skills. That alone, will ill-prepare them for life. Zimbabwe needs to be a nation of thinkers and doers; men and women who can integrate ideas and action.

5. Education, therefore, must be mass-oriented and cease to be a privilege for a few. However, each learner should be educated according to his or her potential, according to his or her academic or practical bent. Those who have a practical bias require the essential theory and practice that go with it and the academically inclined also need a strong dose of practical work. In this way, we will create a nation of workers who will be useful citizens, thus contributing to our national development. We hope to change the negative attitudes to work that have been ingrained in our youths over the years, by helping them appreciate the importance of both academic and practical work and the dignity of labour. None of us can do without the services of the farmer, the carpenter, the designer, the housewife, the electrician, the business person, the mechanic; to mention but a few.

6. However, a balance between theory and practice, work and study, will not alone produce the effects we envisage. Our youths must learn the basics of production; go through the mill of planting, growing, producing or making and buying and selling, if they are to acquire the skills they will need and if they are to appreciate the value of productive work. Only then, can they identify the field in which they will contribute as productive citizens and develop a lasting interest in an area of human endeavour that will be most gratifying in their future lives. In the past, they have not been exposed to a wide range of alternatives. Up to middle secondary school, we hope to have this academic and practical balance so that specialisation will be based on informed judgement.

7. Now the question is: whose responsibility is it to educate the future adults of our society? As far as the government is concerned, this task rests squarely on the shoulders of parents, teachers, government and the learners themselves. The government, parents, teachers and learners should therefore work in unison to ensure that our system of education does not lead to the creation of new social classes. That is to say, instead of creating a degree or diploma-obsessed-elite, our education system should produce thoughtful and creative citizens on a broad social base. Once educated, each citizen must relate and apply his/her academic achievements to the problems of society at large.

8. It would be pointless to educate our people mainly for personal financial gain and high social status. We, as parents, teachers and the government, should invariably act together to produce intellectually sound and inventive members of our future society who will be ready to face the challenge of the growing socio-economic and technological intricacies of the world order.

9. Here, I must stress that central government cannot leave education in the hands of the parents, teachers and learners alone because there has to be national uniformity. Nevertheless, this uniformity of government policy does not exclude parent participation in the affairs of their local schools. The interests of the parents basically lie in that they want their children to be successful in life. The government's concerns go beyond this. It is imperative for government to define national educational objectives and formulate a comprehensive policy of education, the implementation of which requires the participation of all interested parties, including parents. More importantly, the government has to build more educational facilities in order to produce learners with relevant skills and competencies that will enable them to cope with society's needs at all levels of the socio-economic processes.

10. Infrastructural development and relevant skills on their own, without sufficient self-discipline will not achieve the desired end. Learners, and teachers alike, must be committed and work tirelessly and selflessly to achieve our national goals. This calls for total devotion to teaching and learning. It means removing immoral inclinations such as truancy, theft, cheating, lying, indulgence in thuggery, drug-taking and over-drinking. It calls for exemplary behaviour and consistent improvement of our performance.

11. Remember, too, that our independence needs hard and honest work by us. Freedom is only freedom when it is circumscribed by discipline and responsibility. We are responsible to ourselves, our families, our schools, our government and the nation. We dare not disappoint the nation for the trust it has reposed in us.