Tue, 30 Jan 2018 08:53:07 +0000
FINALLY, the Ministry of Education has clarified assertions that have been doing rounds that pupils who drop out in Grade 9 will be repeating to Grade 6, effectively resting anxieties pertaining to this contentious matter.
Since these claims surfaced in the recent past, media houses have been replete with letters and views from the public, many condemning this so-called policy as being very retrogressive and not well thought out.
But in rejecting these claims Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary Henry Tukombe succinctly explained that there was no such policy which required that candidates who failed Grade 9 are required to repeat Grade 6.
The correct position, according to Mr Tukombe is that Grade nines that failed were required to re-sit only for the number of subjects that they needed to make a Grade 9 certificate.
Mr Tukombe further explained that due to the increasing numbers of Grade 9 external candidates, the Grade 9 external examination was separated from the internal junior secondary leaving certificate examination in 2017.
He observed that the policy had always been that candidates were internal the first time they attempted the examination, after which all other attempts at the same level were external.
At least parents who have children in this position can now relax and let their children give it a shot at the external examinations and afterwards merge the subjects to make a Grade 9 certificate.
The wrong assertions about candidates repeating Grade 9 have caused so much anxiety and we wonder where and how these claims originated from.
But this goes to show just how misleading and alarming such information can be if let to circulate in the absence of a quick clarification as people are left to speculate.
We therefore commend Mr Tukombe for finally giving the correct position on the matter which if left without counter action could have dented the image not only of the Ministry of Education but the government too.
Going by the interest the issue had generated and the amount of speculation regarding the subject, the matter was not only becoming contentious, but a handy weapon some politicians would readily use to unnecessarily criticise the government.
It is advisable therefore for the authorities that be, in this case the Ministry of Education, not to wait for the matter to blow out of proportion before coming out to clarify the situation or give the true scenario.
Communication is delicate and if mishandled can cause big problems as it can be misunderstood or misinterpreted in the absence of the proper information being targeted at the public.
Let the Ministry and many others not wait to firefight but instead should be proactive once such serious misinformation starts brewing on policies pertaining to their institutions.
