Resources ‘let down’ in grades

 By MIRIAM MALAWA

THE Department of Education is expecting an improvement of grades this year after a drop of performance by students last year.

Education Secretary Michael Tapo said performance dropped, with students mostly scoring passes, upper passes, credits and a few with distinctions.  He said there were a few factors that accompanied the standard which the department was mindful of and had to work hard to provide better quality education.

 “There are issues related to the quality of learning of students such as resources, teacher efforts, how the subjects were taught, guidance of parents and qualification of teachers, curriculum resources and infrastructures,” he told a media conference yesterday.

“Those are standards that contribute to the quality of education and quality of standard of achievements of students.  All students are smart but the level of guidance and resources is not able to provide that,” Tapo said.

He said on that basis, last year’s performance dropped and the department had sent a circular out to schools to remind them to pay particular attention to guidance for students so that they could be brought up to speed and be more competitive. 

“Right now a lot of our students are just studying because we are making sure that they do the right thing. But are they very smart?

“That is why the government is addressing that through providing better alternatives for our students through systems in place for schools to use.”