About me..Introductory Blog…Education System in Zimbabwe

Well I’m a 29 yr old guy from Zimbabwe, an accountant by profession.I work for this big Mining House in the capital city.

 Ehh..my life is a bit interesting, or not, I’m not sure how others see it, I have no complains or regrets though.

I’ve achieved quite a lot of things and I have had a few milestones that I’ll share in my blogs a bit later on. Ok, I was or I’m still a simple guy who cares more about the basics, not too flashy or flamboyant…this obviously can be corroborated or authenticated with the car that I drive at the moment,folks think I can drive/own a better car but the truth of the matter is ‘that is the car I can afford’, well I get to save a on lot on fuel, yeah right that is my only excuse.For now the only clue I’ll give to my audience about the car I drive is that it is a 1.5l, let’s leave it here, I definitely have better issues to address and talk about on this platform not about cars.Yes, I love high performance cars, but what’s the point of fantasizing about cars I’ll never get to own or drive at least in the short term foreseeable future?

I used to consider Accounting to be the greatest profession I could ever pursue, now I have a keen interest in bricklaying.In my next life i’ll be a bricklayer, trust me.When I finished my A Level in 2004,I had very good points for a day scholar at a Harare government school, by the way Harare produces some of the poorest results in Ordinary and Advanced Level public examinations, I always wonder why. Having gone through the system myself,I think I have a rough idea of where Harare public schools get it all wrong.If I am given the opportunity and platform I believe I can suggest/proffer sound ideas on how to improve pass rates in our public schools to the relevant authorities.

For example, why force everyone to do sports when some of us had no interest or talent whatsoever. I remember a few occasions whereby myself and a few others guys where hunted down during ‘sports period’ so that we could ‘run’ (athletics) or chase a plastic ball (football) or fight over a funny shaped ball (rugby). In all the cases we were caught out we had quietly tucked and hid ourselves in an isolated class and busied ourselves with studying,reading and or discussions of academic related issues. Sadly,an overzealous ‘prefect’ would track us down and more sadly he/she would hand us over to the Principal for beatings.However,the point I’m trying to drive to is that me and my crew were the guys with the better results at that school,notwithstanding that we had to go through persecutions so to say. However the points I obtained were not enough for me to pursue my programme of choice at my preferred higher institution. The folks that busied themselves with sporting activities failed their academia dismally, quite a number had zero points and the like. I am reminded of Dr. Benjamin Carson’s amazing speech that i watched on YOUTUBE recently, Ben Carson Breakfast Speech on Education and other Issues, in his speech he shares some sentiments I have always believed in since my high school days.
In summary he says, American education should get it’s education curiculum right because it is the ‘ability to solve quadratic equations’ rather than ‘sports success’ that has brought America to the pinnacle of the world.
What a statement! I respect you for this, Sir! Another time he says “Education is a fundamental principle of what made America a success. We can’t afford to throw any young people away”-Ben Carson

Furthermore, they did not do so well in the sporting activities they were focusing much of their attention on, sadly some of them have not managed to turn around their lives from that quagmire of losing out on both ends. I am not trying to take away anything away from the education system in this ‘liberated country of ours’ which is structured with an academic session and also extra curriculum activities session (sports etc) However I think when one is an A Level student, they would have already decided which career they want to pursue in their life and they should not be intimidated into doing anything they do not want.

I am a firm believer of the economic system that favors “competitive advantage” This is a concept whereby a country focuses its attention on producing what they can competently and cheaply produce with respect to available resources/raw materials in comparison of other countries. In this vein I believe students, must be allowed to choose the careers they would like to pursue and also help them by creating a conducive environment to help them achieve those ambitions, rather than forcing or streamlining them into a wholesome education system for example forcing everyone to go through the sports curiculum.

Imagine if my school had identified my colleagues and myself as a target group for pursuing academic excellence and to score high points. I, for instance had already set my focus on the field of accounting, I was determined that Accounting was my field, I could not waste my time on sporting activities no ..no..no…but then the schooling system in Zimbabwe was against me and my dreams.The whole time, my school authorities failed to realize that I was competing with guys from Kutama, Nyanga High, Bonda, Moleli, Dominican Convent, St Ignatius and other boarding schools with a strong discipline of studying and strong academic records. It’s a fact that the Accounting programme at UZ only takes those with 15 A level points only.The Accounting class at UZ can only contain +|- 150 students, from the background I have provided you may want to appreciate that I had no chance whatsoever, which meant I had to apply to other smaller universities.

However by hook and crook or backdoor whatever you call it I got myelf a place there even without enough points, I remember the Dean mentioning that my points were very good for a day’s scholar in Harare though not good enough for entering the programme. He however had faith in me and he allowed me to do the programme and exactly four years later I did not let him down,I worked hard and graduated with the so called ‘gurus’ from the above mentioned schools who were now my coleagues. I will certainly make time and do another blog on my experiences at UZ, especially the hardest lecturers there,I’ll try not to mention any names, well good luck with that. another blog will be dedicated for my time here at the Mine where I work, I will share the happy moments, sad moments and somewhat the events that have been going on here in Zimbabwe with regards to the mining sector and obviously that will be from my own point of view and by the way I have seven years experience in the mining sector and I have seen quite a lot.

For the very first blog i do not think i did as badly as I initially thought, my apologies, I think it is a bit lengthy though…