Is our society fit to produce the goods?

A couple of weeks back I was lucky to be part of an education seminar that was attended by some fine minds in the education sector in this country. As the proceedings got underway with people discussing issues, something in me occurred. As people were discussing what the problems were in township schools I began asking myself one question: What kind of problem are we having in the township schools? I even went as far as asking one University lecturer whether he thinks we are having a societal problem. These questions came about when I started to realise that it is a jungle out there for our learners.

Some honest questions that we need to ask ourselves as a community are becoming unavoidable. Some of these questions might be yawn generating ones because I had been banging on about them for weeks. One question I would like to bring to the fore today is whether our society is capable to deliver the skilled professionals that our economy is in dire need of. I know you might be thinking “Mara what's wrong with him, there are a lot of skilled individuals that are coming from our community”. This is right but is our society capable of producing the mass that our economy needs. One might ask what society is capable enough to be the machine that will run the production of these skilled individuals. That is a fair question because we need to ask especially under current socio-economic situation in the township.

But it is also important to note though the economic status is part of the problem but is not the not entirely the problem. The way we are doing things can contribute extensively in creating a generation that values and respects education. I think central to this creation of a proper society is making sure that this society cultivates a culture of learning. Such a society will be able to value and have respect for education. Children born in this society will pass on to their kids idea of valuing and respecting education and they themselves will benefit from this. Question that comes to then is how do we then start to build that kind of society? Also what should be everyone’s responsibility in creating such a society? As we ponder these questions as the community we need to also think about how have we been doing things, how are doing things? Ok two many questions and that’s probably complicating things even more than they are now.

Let’s start with this we get 6yrs with the children before they start conventional schooling system. Does our society cultivate a culture of learning even at this six year block. Ja I know many will say “but we can’t afford educational toys for our kids”. What do we then do in this case? Surely we can find not costly ways to ensure that kids are mentally stimulated at this stage. Remember if we can try and get the basics right at this stage we would be laying the much needed foundation on the culture of learning. As kids enter the mainstream schooling they would be able to adapt easily to the environment. I believe that this should continue through out the schooling system. Things might get a little more complicated especially since we all understand the education background of this country, but I believe if we show the care and support to kids then they will continue to develop further the culture of learning that we want them to have. Building such a society is not only vital for delivering the skills needed by our economy but also it is important for community development because such a societal mindset is central to the development of our community. This is the way I see it, how do you see it:proedparent@gmail.com