COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION FLOP

Sir,
I wonder if parents of emaSwati children are really concerned about the future of their children. I have never heard of a single complaint from any of them about the extremely below standard new Competency-Based Education (CBE) implemented in primary schools.Mostly, I’m disappointed by my colleagues in the teaching fraternity. As parents themselves, they should be at the forefront in challenging this mediocre curriculum and its lousy, detrimental accompanying policies. The Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) and teachers are completely mute on this disastrous programme.

Analyse

Honestly, this so-called CBE has immensely lowered the standard of education. It is on a downward trajectory. I personally analyse its implementation as a deliberate political ploy by the State to retain the working class. With a host of unelected but appointed, industrialists in central government, I surmise they are behind this exploitative programme for their own benefit. Definitely, the illiterate and clueless folks mass produced by CBE will end up being manual labourers in the industries of these oligarchs.Another thing, we should not forget that we are under a State that could be now failing to fund free basic education, as per the Constitution. They only wanted a cheap way out by implementing CBE and its lousy policies. It is now mandatory for a pupil to go to the next class even without having mastered core requisite skills and knowledge for the next level.It is now customary to find as totally illiterate a Grade III child whom education authorities want to proceed to Grade IV, by hook or crook the following year. It’s the CBE policy for you. What will this child be at the end - an unskilled manual labourer?

Structure

Apparently, a comprehensive feasibility study was not carried out by the proponents of the programme. The present structure of our education system, from elementary to tertiary, is incompatible with CBE, For example, there are no workshops for the expressive arts in most schools and there is no single academy of music, arts and drama to enrol those who are competent in that discipline. Furthermore, qualified specialists should have capacitated the colleges before implementation. In short, we copied something from developed countries which we do not have resources of. CBE was prematurely introduced in Eswatini.

The head of State frequently emphasises that Eswatini should attain First World status. First World countries invest in quality education. STEM disciplines, that is; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, are core subjects in these countries. In our CBE, Science has been chopped to the lowest ebb. We are going the opposite direction, letting down His Majesty’s dream.If we want a bright future for our children, the nation should denounce this disastrous programme. The NCC should really go back to the drawing board. They have stooped down so low this time. I personally reject this national embarrassing mediocrity in the strongest terms possible and condemn it to the trash-can.

Sibusiso M. Dlamini

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