Times Of Swaziland: OWEN APPOINTS COMMITTEE TO REVIEW EDUCATION SYSTEM

OWEN APPOINTS COMMITTEE TO REVIEW EDUCATION SYSTEM
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Sabelo Ndzinisa on 11/05/2024 09:49:00


MBABANE – The Minister of Education and Training, Owen Nxumalo, has announced
a 21-member committee tasked with reviewing the education system in the country
within six months.
The minister announced the committee during a press briefing yesterday at the
ministry’s offices, pointing out that this was in response to the concerns
submitted by emaSwati during Sibaya about the status of education in the
country. “We will recall that during Sibaya, a lot was said about the state of
education in the country, and the challenges that must be addressed. This is
largely due to the fact that the level of education among local children has
dropped compared to other countries. Cabinet, therefore, saw it necessary that
the education challenges raised during Sibaya be addressed,” he said.
Nxumalo also acknowledged the patience of the ministry’s management on the
appointment of the committee.
“We appreciate the patience of management in giving us time to appoint the
committee. This was long announced and the management has been asking us about
the delay in announcing the committee. Let me say that we were still tying up
loose ends on this issue with Cabinet. Cabinet has now mandated me to announce
the committee to the nation. Cabinet did indicate that their hope is now on this
committee to deliver on their mandate,” he said. The minister said it was
apparent that the standard of education in the country had gone down, pointing
out that submissions during Sibaya touched on a lot of issues including
uniforms, insufficient food in schools and many more other challenges that must
be addressed.
Companies
“Most importantly, there is a need to establish if the education system is
still relevant to companies in terms of creating job opportunities. There are a
lot of challenges that would be addressed by this committee. We tried to look
for the cream of the crop when appointing this committee to address the
issues.” He said the appointment of the committee was also motivated by the
fact that there were many studies on the education system done by organisations
like the United Nations Chilren’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Bank, but noted that
there were difficulties in implementing their recommendations.
“This committee will look into those studies and try to implement the
recommendations and develop the standard of education. We would like to request
that this committee should work together with the ministry and Cabinet. In
short, this committee will drive the studies done by the mentioned
organisations,” he stressed. He also informed those present that when His
Majesty the King heard about this initiative, he showed happiness, especially on
the fact that even new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) will be
introduced in schools. He said the country’s authorities are confident that
this committee will do the required task and deliver on their mandate.
Size
“The committee is big because their work is also equally huge. People should
not be worried about the size of the committee because the members will be
assigned to do different things. Others will look at curriculum, while others
will focus on hiring of teachers. The task for the members will be separated so
that the task is done quicker and efficiently.” He said Cabinet has great
trust in the announced members, stating that: “we have confidence that they
will not disappoint us in doing the expected job with the aim of uplifting the
standard of education. They should work together with officials in the
ministry.”
Nxumalo also stated that the appointed committee has started doing its job.
“We have already done their terms of reference together with them. Even
Cabinet is very happy about that. They have been given six months to do this
work and we will review how far they have gone after that period,” he said.
The minister concluded by mentioning that a similar committee would be appointed
to look into the challenges faced by the University of Eswatini (UNESWA).
“The UNESWA issue is still being discussed at Cabinet level and we remain
hopeful that a committee will be appointed to look into how the challenges
facing the institution can be addressed. Once finalised, the committee will be
announced to the nation,” Nxumalo assured. The appointed committee is headed
by Mboni Dlamini, who is the executive secretary of the Eswatini Qualifications
Authority.