THE country’s education system needs to produce students who can become critical thinkers, problem solvers and have reflection abilities and not parrots who are taught to remember things.
Opposition Leader Matthew Wale highlighted this last week in his contribution to the Education Bill 2023 debate in Parliament.
He said two key traits in human formation is creativity and reflection.
“These are two critical competences in the 21st century. It is simply not good enough to stuff our students full of content,” he added.
The Opposition Leader further highlighted that exams force students to merely memorise but not understand what they were taught, causing more damage than good.
“It produces parrots. And we certainly do not want to see parrots come out of our schools.
“Students that come out of an education system that merely seeks to fill them up with content are like fish out of water when they are faced with dynamic real-life situations for which creative solutions are required,” he said.
MP Wale said the ability to think critically is essential to survive and succeed in this 21st century.
“And critical thinking is taught and modelled. It must become mainstreamed in our education system.
“The ability to reflect has always been critical to a productive life, more so in the 21st century. Self-reflection is taught, and must be in our schools.
“It is why the focus of the education system must be on the two persons that must embody all these values are the student and the teacher.
“We want the student to be eager to learn and be challenged to grow in their critical thinking, problem solving and reflection abilities.
“Such a student finds enjoyment and inspiration in schooling and looks forward with great eagerness to being in class with the teacher,” he said.
The eager student challenges the teacher to be at their best, the Opposition Leader added.
“We also want the teacher to be eager to challenge the student and find enjoyment in seeing them grow in their learning.
“So, the student is keen to learn, and the teacher is keen to teach. That is the education system we want to see.
“Everything in policy, legislation, governance, resources, staffing, infrastructure and partnerships must be to enable, facilitate, encourage, and ensure the student is keen to learn and the teacher is keen to teach.
“An education system fails when it does not produce this mutual eagerness in both the student and teacher,” he said.
By MOFFAT MAMU
