The Basic Education Teachers Union of Zambia (BETUZ) has made submissions to the Ministry of General Education on the proposed replacement of Grade Seven examinations with assessment tests.
BETUZ General Secretary, Evans Chungu, has confirmed the development to ZANIS in Kabwe, saying BETUZ has since submitted the union’s opinion on the announcement made by the Ministry of General Education.
Mr Chungu says the announcement is a welcome move, however, the union is worried with the quality of results that will be produced from the assessment tests, that will allow the pupils qualify to the next grade.
He added that the whole essence of conducting examinations, is for teachers to see how ready the pupils are, to move to the second level of education.
Mr Chungu added that BETUZ made its submissions after looking at the Policy Chain of the education system under basic level and hopes to see the Ministry of General Education come up with best ways to produce quality results from the assessment tests for Grade Seven learners.
He also revealed that the union is still looking into forwarding more submissions, in order to ensure that good results from Grade Seven School Assessment Tests are produced.
Recently, Minister of General Education, David Mabumba, announced that Grade Seven pupils will no longer write examinations to qualify for the next grade but instead write assessment tests.
Please leave progress exams the way they have been! How will our children appreciate the sense of accomplishment when exams are done away with? Removing exams will just worsen the number of ifikopo in the country some of whom will sneak their way into leadership positions! The quickest way to destroy a nation is to chip away the quality of education for whatever reasons! An illiterate rich man once said: “I don’t care how rich a person may be. It is not good for a soul to be without knowledge. “
What purpose does a Grade 7 exam serve except to increase the school dropout rate?
The idea is somehow good on the grounds that it’s no difference with what we have or rather prevailing for our children in a sense that most of them go to the next level of course even when they don’t do well in exams due to availability of spaces in most schools with Grades 8 and 9,but it’s a burden to both a pupil and a teacher for the journey of the course of 9 years is too long to engulf everything of it in time of revising and mastering towards exams.
..mwebantu don’t ground this country to a halt…. We in this mess because most people are illiterate and can’t think straight, now you even want to remove the little gleam of hope….we need critical thinkers not people who have just been rubbed/brazed with some bit of knowledge….
At a Catholic School sisters gave a free transfer to a pupil who got distinctions in exams when he was all along below average. They told the father to find another school. This is the level of cheating that has hit Zambia. Standards have fallen, teachers, parents and leaders are all to blame. Davies Mwila got 6 points why hasn’t he been enrolled into the school of natural sciences?