The Ministry of Education has urged Universities to consider enrolling the best performing students in the school of education.
Speaking during the first ever education conference in Zambia held at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka today, Minister of Higher Education, Nkandu Luo said the school of education should have the ‘cream dela cream’ because teachers are the kingpin of the education sector.
“When our universities in Zambia are trying to recruit students, those with good marks six, seven, and eight points are said to be recruited in the school of Natural Sciences so that they can be doctors, engineers and so on while, as a by the way those with 16 points or 18 points find their way to the School of Education.” Said Prof. Luo.
Meanwhile, University of Zambia (UNZA) Vice Chancellor, Luke Mumba said there are three admitting schools at UNZA and the university application forms have a provision for three school choices were the applicants writes down the schools they intend to apply for according to the order of their choice.
“Students who want to come at UNZA choose their first, second and third choice, so if somebody chooses to go to the School of Education if they have got six points they will still go in fact, for the School of Education the cut-off point is between six and somewhere 15. School of Natural Sciences the cut-off point is six for both males and females, Humanities its six for males and seven for females.” Prof. Mumba said.
Prof. Mumber added that, it is all about choices noting that, it is against the university’s policy to force students to be enrolled in schools they did not choose.
HH should hire Creme dela creme ministers.
A white Minister of Higher Education can’t be bad.
Creme de la Feces! Every kid deserves a chance
Be realistic. You think there are people out there who want to become teachers? It’s like saying you want the best students to be priests. No one plans to become a teacher. Fishupafye
The 6 points cut off is in reality applicable in all admitting schools at Unza including Education. Massive cheating at grade 12 has pushed cut-off points to lower numbers and Unza has over the years failed to implement realistic aptitude assessments for admission as not ALL the 6 points presented on paper are real!
That further causes more cheating or leakage at grade 12 and lower and that will continue to be on the rise in the country for some time unless something is done. There will be a time when a grade 1 pass in a subject won’t be enough unless the mark is 100%.
Many students at Unza and other higher institutes cannot speak, read and write properly and somehow they survive and manage to graduate …
Professor Luo has a point but education as a career should become attractive. You cant force anybody to choose otherwise as prof Mumba pointed out. Certainly we need competent teachers but who are rewarded for their competence
Zed Yesu Bonse
Imagine this handsome woman,need we lecture her on why people are not attracted to school of education?How much does her government pay teachers?Very foolish…
No, she’s hasn’t got a point.
Quality of education and teachers having 6 points are not related, neither is having 6 pointer degree holders fighting one another for jobs, it’s though equitable to having the best military and losing every battle.
What? Something strange here, Minister of General Education and Minister of High Education. What are their job descriptions and duties? Just wasting your tax money and time, Zambia really need a self check with these BS
The best teachers never and don’t need to have 6 points, hell not even the best lawyers, and certainly not always for the best doctors, engineers etc. Academic excellence is not a measure of Best motivation and making a difference are. Let me give an example, they are individuals in my sector – ICT/engineering, they had 6 points and all, better still can’t match the problem solving skills that some of us who never got 6 points have. See at the end of the day in the real world the one who provides real solutions to real problems is the genius and not being an academically gifted individual. The emphasis of education should be to tackle problems not acquire useless degrees. Also people are not employed on the basis of their grade 12 results but what they can offer. Education will continue…
Cont’d
Education will continue being a sham if we continue putting emphasis on points.
I’m proud to say I never got 6 points and I don’t have to wait for a payslip every month like some 6 Pointer to make ends meet, you know what I am? An entrepreneur and innovator.
Please judge me based on my abilities, skills and value to this country not the 6 points I never had.
My bro you are right. Most PHDs are useless when it comes to competence jobs. This learned professor Luo is very useless herself.
Someone’s Grade 12 results are able to determine which course best suits them. But it is also very important to let someone pursue a course they are interested in.If someone is forced to do what they don’t want, the country will end up producing ‘quarter’ baked graduates. Yes quarter-baked, not even half-baked.
Scientifically and statistically speaking you’re wrong, psychologically speaking you’re right – but then psychology is a psuedo science. When students at a university are placed were they don’t want they readjust because there is no alternative other than try to be better in programme placed and by better I mean they will do everything in their power to obtain good grades so as to graduate.
I totally disagree. Someone has to study what they are passionate about, pursue what interests them most
@Academician. Are you disagreeing with yourself or that’s another academician with the earlier comment? I agree about someone studying what they are passionate about.
This woman has no brains in her head. Who told her that its only the best chaps who go to study under NS. Its just a matter of choice and some good brains don’t want to be teachers because they have seen the sufferings of their own teachers and the have wide choices to make than being teachers thanks to their good results. And these two f.ools are to blame for the sufferings of teachers. There simply no good incentives to be a teacher.
Prof Mumba is right and spot on:”Students who want to come at UNZA choose their first, second and third choice, so if somebody chooses to go to the School of Education if they have got six points they will still go in fact, for the School of Education the cut-off point is between six and somewhere 15. School of Natural Sciences the cut-off point is six…
Jonathan should hire Creme dela creme ministers. Not even one of these chaps can qualify to be one!!!
A white Minister of Higher and General Education can’t be bad. We need less facial creams in ministries also. Its the creams that they smear themselves that is taking away their brains to remain with rubbish in their heads.
Prof Mumba is a genius!!!!!!
What a disaster!!!!
This cannot work. What works now is money. Students from vulnerable families get better results, but because they are not viable, they end up failing to go to college. It is not a matter of getting better results. It is the issue of finances. Those with good results cannot access better education owing to financial constraints.
The government needs to provide better incentives for those with good results. For it to be competitive, those who get 6 points and 10 points respectively should be enrolled free for the first year. Thereafter, that is when the bursary or loan issue schemes should come in. Education,nowadays, is for the rich.The poor do not have access to better education no matter how intelligent they may be.
There is a new school of thought that suggests high grade achievers should not be the target for academic considerations. According to a BBC report this morning, there is suggestions that academia concentrates on bringing out ‘decent, well behaved,’ human beings, rather than conceited brain boxes that end up being sophisticated white collar criminals. Look what those bankers did in 2007, eh….subprime loans, false banking products. All that from high achievers!
That’s good reasoning. Let’s not worry too much about high grades, with concentration even monkeys can turn out first class! Give thicko’s a chance to contribute meaningfully to the economy through education!
I DIDNT THINK THE CONFERENCE IS ABOUT PASSING AN EXAM…..SORRY WILLIAM…..I THOUGHT THEY WOULD BE TALKING ABOUT A TECHNOLOGY DRIVEN CURRICULAR…..
You will be disappointed Professor Luo to learn that almost half if not three quarters of those selected drop out in most schools at the university, the good points that these pupils or rather students have don’t much their real intelligence. Most of them, the certificate is better than a person who has it.
If we are to progress maybe to start conducting aptitude test as entry requirements. Otherwise Lecturers are suffering a lot in tertiary institutions to make these students better
Someone must have whispered Norwegian teachers in their ears. However, in such a country first of all teachers are very well remunerated and compensated. The teaching training is rigorous and demanding. That incentive of respect and good award itself acts as a motivator for people to compete to become teachers. Epo mpelele mwempalume. Ifyakunya fyena mukwai baleke… it has to be a holistic approach not running mouths at conferences.
Points don’t determain one’s Calibre but action does