By Wesley Ngwenya
This week all the examination classes in Zambia would have finished writing their final examinations. The examination classes, in Zambia, are grade seven, grade nine, and grade twelve. These grades have to go through a week to a month of continuous rigorous testing with each exam sometimes lasting up to three hours.
Every year, there are allegations of exam malpractices all over the country as students and teachers alike are under pressure of meeting the expectations of parents and administrators. This month, I ran into several groups of grade twelve students who were actually reviewing exam papers that had leaked. Apparently, this was happening in Chilenje, Kabwata, Matero, Chelston and pretty much all over Lusaka. This got me thinking—do we really need these examinations? Or rather, are examinations the best way to evaluate academic performance?
It is very clear that exams, in Zambia, have lost their purpose. If exams are there to eliminate students so that they do not progress to the next grade then maybe they can be justified. However, if they are intended to distinguish students who are outstanding academically to those who are not then they are obviously way off the target.
Our current education system in Zambia revolves around exams. Students in primary, secondary and even college spend their time focussing on the final exams. There is little or no time for creativity during their time in classes. Students don’t have the luxury of exploring their interests and stretching their minds. It’s all exams exams and exams. How can a two hour exam determine how good of a student you have been in the last twelve years? Surely, it is time our educators revised our system. We need our students to be able to pursue their interests. Let them work on projects and be more innovative. There are quite a variety of areas that our students can be involved in within our country. I would be eager to see our students in secondary school pursue interests in environmental issues, botany, mining, irrigation, climate change, e-commerce, and many more.
Instead of having an exam oriented syllabus, there is need to focus on continuous assessment. Then students would focus on issues that are relevant to them. I have been recently learning a lot about the various names of Zambian birds from the children of my American friends. I feel ashamed of myself that I cannot name more that ten varieties of our birds and yet we have thousands of varieties here in Zambia. Many of our students have not seen a lion or many of our beautiful wildlife but they are expected to write lengthy essays, during exams, about the wildlife in Zambia. Many of our students have never seen a test tube but they are expected to use them during their final exams. What is, therefore, the use of these exams, to make them fail?
The United States has the SAT or ACT tests which are “sort of” used by some colleges for admission. However, in college, you do various things in your chosen major to earn your degree—you attend classes, do assignments, projects, research papers, group discussion, focus groups, presentations, field trips, internships, tests, exams, and many more. I remember that I had an exam on Friday and was graduating of Sunday. This was possible because my exam was only a small component of the whole course. On the other hand, here in Zambia, our colleges are infested with exams. Students are forced to do certain things such as having an affair with their professors so they can make the grade. Professors at our colleges and universities have become so powerful because they hold the key of success for many of their students. A professor can choose to fail if they don’t like you or you refuse to have a relationship with them.
Sadly, many other colleges have mushroomed in Zambia so long you are able to pay them exam fees. I checked out one of these colleges where the registrar told me all I needed do was pay a few thousand dollars then I can get a few books and go study at home. After that come back in December to write the final exams and you get your MBA hmmm! Sounds interesting, absolutely not. Sounds familiar, absolutely. That’s not exactly what I envisioned I would have to do to earn my MBA.
Our schools are graduating people who are unable to write a business plan, solve a simple mathematical problem, interpret basic information let alone articulate themselves in our official language. Little wonder why we have mediocre minds in positions of leadership in Zambia. I say it is time to do away with these ridiculous exams and introduce continuous assessment in all levels of our education system. Maybe we can introduce boxing. Yes boxing where we pair each other and knock each other down and the winner advances to the next grade. Can you imagine how many world class boxers would come out of Zambia as a result? Better than getting a distinction in school but you cannot afford to go to college or find a job, right?
