Shortages of science laboratories and other learning materials in rural and urban schools have worsened the problem. Many schools have scrapped teaching science subjects altogether.
Mutare Polytechnic College acting vice-principal Ida Mugabe said the shortage of science and maths students and lecturers would affect the economy, which is in dire need of creative and innovative students.
“We need students with skills that can operate in a business driven economy…given that 94 percent of our revenue is derived from natural resources. The nation is not realising much, there is need to add value. And in order to add value, our students need to be creative and innovative, hence the need of more science students,” she said.
Mugabe noted that in other countries students as young as 13 were already involved in inventions of technology. “There is great need to make sure that students at grassroots level are exposed to science subjects and user-friendly with numbers if we are to move forward as a modern nation.
“Our students need to be creative and innovative at an early age. But at the moment it’s not the case and the shortage of science teachers is not helping,” she said. MTC principal Jason Muwandi attributed the crisis to the brain drain. He said government was lagging behind in bridging the gap as compared to its SADC counterparts. “Some years ago, Mutare Teachers College trained science and maths teachers for Namibia. We were very behind, we didn’t know what was going on but in SADC they were already ahead. We trained 500 science and maths teachers for Namibia,” he said
Muwandi lamented that similar challenges were faced in practical subjects, such as physical education and sport, computers studies, music, art and design, clothing and textile, food and nutrition.
Post published in: Education