Times Of Swaziland: RESULTS OUT TODAY, SCHOOLS OPEN TUESDAY

RESULTS OUT TODAY, SCHOOLS OPEN TUESDAY
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Phiwase Phungwayo on 31/03/2022 08:49:00


MANZINI - The wait is over!
Results for the Eswatini Primary Certificate (EPC) and Junior Certificate (JC)
external examinations will be out today. They will be released in the afternoon.
In addition, the opening date of schools, which is April 5, still stands. This
has been confirmed by both the Examinations Council of Eswatini (ECESWA) and
Ministry of Education and Training. ECESWA, through its Communications Officer
Hlengiwe Ndlovu yesterday, said: “The Examinations Council of Eswatini would
like to inform the public that JC and EPC results will be released tomorrow
(today), Thursday March 31, 2022, by the Minister of Education and Training Lady
Howard Mabuza.” Ndlovu elaborated that this followed an ECESWA Council Board
meeting with management yesterday, where council approved the results. She
revealed that the minister would release the results after lunch.
Confirmed
In the same breath, Ministry of Education and Training Principal Secretary
Bhekithemba Gama confirmed same. He mentioned that the results would not be
published in the media, but rather it (media) would only be furnished with a
summary of the results. Gama alluded to that the ministry still maintained the
date for schools opening, which was April 5. He had been asked if government
would postpone the schools opening date in light of the delay in results
release, to allow both parents and teachers ample time to prepare for the
reopening. “When schools open next week, Form II, III, as well as Form V will
be learning, as they will be continuing from previous classes. The same applies
to Grade II to VII. Admissions will be done in Form I the entire week, while
(the other teachers) will be busy teaching,” he explained.
The PS mentioned that this was not rocket Science, but was basic logic. He said
while other learners would be in class learning, admissions would be done
concurrently. Gama reiterated that this was a peculiar year and parents should
be mindful of this. He advised them to adjust to the unusual conditions. “That
is why we have issued results in a short period of time,” he said. Worth
noting is that the release of external exams results today will leave parents
and guardians of pupils with only two days to find spaces for their children who
were doing Grade VII and Form III. This has had many parents up in arms about
the delay in the release of the results. This publication was inundated with
calls from parents, asking when the results would be released as the ministry
had announced that schools would open on April 5.
“Government is really not considerate and has no regard for the difficulties
we go through while searching for spaces for our children,” one parent
lamented. She shared that it was a challenge to secure space for a child at a
good school, as most children were bright and competition was high. Another
parent was of the view that government was only doing what suited it, but was
inconsiderate of the troubles they had to go through when looking for spaces for
their children. “It (government) really needs to consider postponing the date
of schools opening,” he said. Another parent was of the view that it
wouldn’t hurt for government to give them another week to get their house in
order.
Pressure
“I fully understand that government is also under pressure that more time is
wasted and that is commendable. But we cannot turn a blind eye to the challenges
that some parents face, such as  not getting spaces for their children, never
mind the financial burden. Let us hope things will run smoothly,” he said. The
complaints by parents on the delay of the release of results comes at a time
when government recently declined a proposal by Eswatini Principals Association
(EPA) to defer the opening of schools for the 2022 calendar year, especially the
first term.
The principals’ association had officially written a proposal to the Ministry
of Education and Training, in particular to the office of the principal
secretary (PS). The letter, which was signed by EPA Secretary General Mduduzi
Masilela was dated March 8, 2022 and titled; Re; proposal to review the school
calendar - 2022. EPA President Welcome Mhlanga had mentioned that the national
executive committee (NEC) of the association had been inundated with concerns
from their members regarding foreseen challenges, which might be the result of
the dates of the 2022 school calendar - in particular, the start of the first
term. He said in their submissions to the ministry; they mentioned that they
were of the view that the one-week school break (March 25, 2022 and April 5,
2022) was not reasonable for them. He said teachers needed time to rest as they
were overwhelmed.  One reason he mentioned was that delivering on the compressed
syllabus under intense pressure to cover most of it, balancing teaching and also
supervising the classes of their colleagues who were away to mark the external
examinations, was and continued to be strenuous. Furthermore, Mhlanga said
teachers who remained behind still had to prepare and mark the internal
examinations, as well as compile progress reports for the learners.
Energy-consuming
Again, he said marking of the external examinations was energy-consuming and
exerted further stress to meet the set deadlines. “In that regard, the
teachers will need to rest and rejuvenate the mind in preparation for the first
term of 2022,” the EPA president said. Once more, he said some teachers would
be marking the Form V external examinations after March 31, 2022, and they would
need to rest thereafter. On another note, he said the admission process of new
learners required time and was undertaken by both the school management and the
admissions committee, which comprised of teachers. On top of that, he argued
that parents also needed sufficient time to look for spaces and make the
necessary arrangements as per the school requirements for admission, like
payment of school fees and submission of proof of payments to the school. “The
one week is not sufficient to carry out this activity,” he said.