Education Minister Geoffrey Lungwangwa has admitted that mathematics is difficult to pass.
The Minister observed that 40 per cent of the Grade 9s and 12s pupils who sat last year’s school certificate examinations failed in mathematics.
Prof Lungwangwa says the overall performance of pupils in mathematics, science and technology has been very poor in the recent years.
The minister said this in a speech ready for him by Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary Lillian Kapulu.
This was during the launch of the Zambia/Ireland Teacher Education Partnership three-year project held at the Ministry education Headquarters.
Prof Lungwangwa regretted that the nation was lagging behind in the three subjects.
He, however, said Government cannot sit idle but to reverse the trend as mathematics, science and technology are cardinal to national development.
He said teachers should pay particular attention when teaching mathematics, science and technology subjects to the learners (pupils).
He said there is need for his ministry to come up with strategies that will address poor performance in these three subjects.
He explained that improved pedagogical skills of teachers is vital to the quality of teachers trained at colleges as this leads to performance of pupils at lower levels.
“As a nation we cannot lag behind in mathematics, science and technology because these subjects are cardinal to national development. Sadly, statistics indicate that 40 per cent of children who sat for last year’s school certificate examination failed mathematics. It is incumbent on the colleges as well as the entire ministry to come up with strategies that will address poor performances in the three subjects,” Mr Lungwangwa lamented.
The project seeks to adopt reflective methods and focuses on the provision of quality teachers updating their pedagogical skills, knowledge and competences.
In Zambia the project will be implemented at two colleges namely, Charles Lwanga and Kitwe colleges of Education but it will be scaled up to all the colleges upon successful completion of phase one.
The project streamlines ways of identifying, documenting and implementing good practices between Zambia and Ireland’s education systems.
ZANIS/ENDS/KC/EB.
INSAMUSHI OYEEE!! OOOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
Lungwangwa you are wrong……..as a leader u are supposed to be putting hope+encouragement in pupils.But u have just done the exact opposite…..TOTAL NEGATIVITY.all you should hav said was “teachers to put more effort wen teaching maths and pupils to pay more attention to maths”. NOT saying(even admiting) that maths is difficult.Bushe iwe Lungwangwa ngawalifeluka maths ninshi nibonse? very shallow thinking,poor leadership skills.
Mathematics is a very simple subject. Its true that leaders and teachers we should come together and motivate the young ones. Our professor was not thinking properly to say math’s is difficulty…
The question are:- ”
1. WHY SHOULD I TEACH A TOUGH SUBJECT WHEN I KNOW THAT I WILL GET THE SAME MONEY WITH SOMEONE WHO TEACHES A RELATIVELY SIMPLER SUBJECT.”
2. “What has the minister done to encourage a talented mathematician to remain in the teaching service?’ I know that all the three techers who made me get a distinction in mathematics 12 years ago are no longer teching, the one is a car dealer and he is doing far much better than those he left teaching.
I have a brother has a diploma in teching and he teaches mathematics at one of the high schools in kitwe, its terrible to see that he has only managed to rent a mad house in ndeke due to the limitation of his saraly.
Daka kaloto ,do you mr Ndakala?
The Ministry is to blame in the poor performance because of the changes they have made in the education sector. Most of the teachers are seconded to teach at the basic schools. They are primary school teachers. How do you expect them to teach the subject which they never trained for? Think before you implement some of this programmes.
Daka Katolo Aggrey, Mukwasu its not just a matter of having mathematicians and then expect maths to be simple. What guarantee is there that they will make math simple? There are a lot of contributing factors, no text books, laziness by pupils, not many math teachers etc. And it is not just math that pupils dread even physics and chemistry.
#2,right on the spot.yu cannot say that as a leader,just like a father cannot tell his son that surely my boy,i don’t blame yu son, physics is very hard,if anything i equally failed it.that’s simply unacceptable.
As for technology,it’s sratnge,now pupils in G9/G12 are learning technology,i thot in G9 it’s E.Science,G12 physics,chemistry and biology,anyway the last i was in sec sch was in 1993..forgive me, i am probably a victim of education developments pa zed.
Thirdly,bwana hon min sir,nothing is easy in life,pupils have to know that.if strongly ordinary maths they in schs is hard,i pit you,send yo child to med sch at ridgeway then u will redefine the term difficulty…
last sentence shud read,if yu strongly feal ordinary maths they learn in schs is difficulty,,i….
Maths is not difficult. Its the teachers who dont know how to teach. Most teachers who teach secondary scholl maths used to find problems themselves in maths. They just went ahead to teach it because ninchito. People had it easy with maths have jobs like, engineers, doctors etc
Mwalasa guys, My mother and my father told me that there were always coming out No 1 – always they told me. They would have gone very far in their education had it not been for financial difficulties. So they encouranged me to take after them. Here I am ….their son has taken after them. Hahahahah…Its the same with you minister. Maths is not difficult . Tell them that even Mulongoti, Teta and Vera got distinctions in maths so they too have to work hard.
iwe Kambongolo “Tell them that even Mulongoti, Teta and Vera got distinctions in maths so they too have to work hard.” this statement amounts to contempt of court
These subjects (mathematics, science and technology) require full concentration during lectures.
A full belly is important if someone is to perform properly. Please also find out if the pupils have enough to eat.
prof
even me i can do better in maths than you i think. poor leadership.
It is easier for good scientists and mathematicians to get better paid jobs at home and abroad than it it is for others. That is why some of Zambia’s most brilliant scientific minds are currently teaching in Europe, North America and South Africa. Science also requires good teaching resources, such as laboratory equipment, videos, good books, etc., all of which are expensive and require government commitment. With due respect to the professor, we also need a more reform minded minister with change management skills. Zambia’s education system is practically antideluvian in age and needs to be updated for the 21st century.
iwe kambongolo not only mulongoti,teta & vera but tell them that RB bwezani got distiction thats why he ended up maring thadiwe who dresses like a village from petauke
lol, Lungwangwa ukopo!!!!wat do u mean hard wen these kids are now using scientific calculators?hw easier do u want it to get?remember we used log books back in the day.nabo ba PS bayabelenga such a speech kubantu! dnt these people have speechwritters who write n analyse what is to be handed out to the public?wat kind of nonsense is that frm ba min, nabo ba min of edu?by the way, isnt ths they who guy who abolished cut off points at g9? ukopo wa lungwangwa utivute mwe
I agree with the minister that we need to do more to improve on this issue of failing in maths and science. one way of doing it is by having the best student in the subject become the teacher of the subject. But this cannot happen if a teacher gets less money that an engineer.If someone can get this fact right then he/she will agree with me that poor performers in such subjects become its teacher because its easier and cheaper to get its training place at colleges. So Mr. Minister, you need to start thinking in those lines if you really mean your words.
maths is viewed one of the difficult subjects,though he shouldnt have nailed it on every scholars face,its like sending a negative subliminal message to the sub concious of the would be professors.Personally I have killed every mathematics on earth with no back ground at all.In my experience maths seems to be difficult because of the fear factor and the difficult of looking things fast.The feelings of inferiority and outright fear that many, probably
most, students feel when they confront mathematics, severely inhibit students’ natural
intelligence and creativity.it is people like you Prof Lugwangwa who inject such fears.
It is as though every mathematical subject, and every
concept within a subject, is surrounded by a kind of “force field” that radiates, “Not
for you!”, “You aren’t smart enough!”. The origin of this force field may be early
experiences in a family in which, say, a father had always been good at mathematics,
and had made it clear he expected his children to likewise be good at the subject. In the
case of women, the origin might be subtle messages sent by teachers throughout the
primary and secondary school years — perhaps without conscious intention — that
technical subjects are too hard for girls. Or, it might be the atmosphere that surrounds
mathematics and indeed…
What we need in Zambia are improved and state of the art pedagogical approaches to teaching these subjects coupled with increased funding of basic level Education on textbooks,infrastructure etc. We can’t necessarily attribute failure to state of being(difficulty),thats lame indeed.Lets encourage our friends and family members in the education sector and not shan them.They are the ones holding the fundamental key to empowerment-knowledge.And please Mr Minister,lets ensure we learn enough from friends to help make changes in our own system.Mathematics is enjoyable if its taught right.
…all technical subjects in the nation’s most prestigious schools,
in which the question is not, Can you learn it?, but Can you learn it the way it is taught
and at the pace that those in charge demand?, Are you engineering or scientific or
mathematics-professor material, yes or no? In short, Are you a winner or a loser?
Maths is nothing but understanding the concept and constantly practicing it,let it be your daily dose,then you kill it.
MATHEMATICS, the mother of all sciences is easy. Most pupils have terrible teachers.
Iam really suprised that the entire minister can say maths is difficult, what then did he do in his school days? This is all because pupils have become lazy, the only interest they have is computer games and the rest that goes with modern tech. we never had calculators in class when doing any exam, it was brain ngafwa…… Just where are we going with our education now? I did my home work alone, but now every child wants the dad or mum to do it for them, but if they are like the minister in question, nothing is done. make maths compulsory in all schools.
mathematics,Arithimetics,maths teti mbepe ubufi fialemposa.i was on finding solace in PE.
Mathematics is not as difficult as they want to imagine! Students need to concentrate , practice and work extra hard. We used to believe that bamwenye know maths better than us but hey! they put in a lot of time in math and other science subjects thus becoming good at them.
That statement encourages laziness and should not have been published.
The is so sad…….the level of Maths in Zambia’s very low.I suggest that they even harden it because the Zambian secondary school foundation in Science and Maths doesn’t help that much in university.Most of the folks that are studing abroad understand this.We’ve to raise the education standards……..the kids are failing because they’re dual,period.Who said that school is for everyone.There’s no point in lowering the standards just to achieve some bubble-gum status in the eyes of the Donor community.Actually the so-called aditional mathematics should be made compulsory from grade 10 to 12.Imagine a hight school graduate who has never heard of calculus…he’s not fit for university))
The minister’s statement’s discouraging……….it’s a receipe for laziness.The kids have to work hard.Secondary school education’s not supposed to be dfficult for someone,otherwise hw does he expect to study in university?For some of us not even a bachelors degree is good enough………that’s why we’ve continuing for masters.Why should it be difficult for someone to just learn what others have already done?It’s understandable to have problems with bringing forward your own theories,something which even undergraduates dont do.In short harden the education system in Zambia………academics is not for everyone and if you crack,you can always try something else))
On “He, however, said Government cannot sit idle but to reverse the trend as mathematics, science and technology are cardinal to national development. He said teachers should pay particular attention when teaching mathematics, science and technology subjects to the learners (pupils).” I am glad that the government is committed to reversing the sad trend of bad performance in mathematics.
However, it is not only teachers who need to pay particular attention to the said subject when teaching it, student has to practice solving arithmetical or mathematical problems atleast daily.
My impression is that mathematics is nothing but a pattern of numbers and symbols and hence anyone can pass it.
If we are to develop an appreciation of maths and the sciences in our children,we need to start from a young age and we need to encourage children,back home we have this attitude of calling people ificopo. Just as adults have different abilities and go on to do different things in life so do children,others are fast learners while others are slow and we all have different learning techniques and our govt should find a way of catering to these needs.In our culture we also have a tendency of telling girls you can only do this or that it’s high time we moved away from such thinking because it is one of the things that is killing us. Parents also need to play a more positive role.
The Minister is utterly wrong. Mathematics is actually the easiest subject. Ity just requires a different learning approach unlike the other subjects. Mathematics needs to be practiced every day, and once the mindset becomes comfortable to apply itself and enjoy it, everything falls together. By passing negative thoughts our children will also accept this myth and fall victim to low grades.
:) The minister is wrong. What he said was to tell students that even if they work hard mathematics is difficult for them to pass. The solution to the problem at hand is to teach students tips to use when studying.
Mathematics is the easiest of all subjects. The problem is attitude, like the so called prof. How can you pass?
The moment you say ‘I can’t jump’, you’ve already failed. All you need is determination to succeed and the willingness to work hard to achieve that success.