Bye-Bye old curriculum. We won’t miss you

BY STEVE EPHRAEM

WE received formal public education at a time when teachers and parents took academic subjects and sports seriously.

Despite the respective ministry once called the Ministry of Education, Arts, Sports and Culture, no one dared to respect the arts and culture part of it.

Innocent as we were, many of us were schooled to think that passing Ordinary Level examinations or a sports career could make one prestigious. No one, including the educational curriculum itself, prepared us to become arts or cultural investors.

Boys looked forward to employment as teachers, clerks, supervisors or managers, while girls would be satisfied by getting married, and a few could desire a secretarial, nursing or teaching career.

Truth be told, our main enemy in the public education system was the superiority complex given to Mathematics, English and Science.

Outside the classroom, sports were given an upper hand. Arts and culture were “less important.”

How could sports define talent in school?

Can one visualise what used to happen to students who were talented both in arts and sports? Sports would obviously be imposed on them. Oh, my foot!

I grew up in sugar and ethanol-producing Tongaat Hullet’s Triangle Estates, about 25km south-west of Chiredzi town in Masvingo Province, where I enrolled at Kamba Primary and Terry Goss Secondary schools from 1981 to 1991.

From the 1970s, Terry Goss Secondary (now High) School jealously guarded the talent of soccer players such as my cousin Daison “Baba Emily” Zulu and the likes of Phidelis Mafaune, Chando and Cobra Ncube, Biggie Sheunesu, Claudius “Pemba” Makore, Ajas “Ajay” Wyson, Penny Zulu, Robert Pande, Livison Njainjai, Tamuka Marecha, Anuza “Chema” CheMaulana, Lawrence Maredza and others.

Even the company itself was tricked to pluck a leaf from the old school curriculum of revering sports. Footballers would easily land a job with the corporation in order for them to play for the now-Premier Soccer League promoted Triangle United Football Club. No job reservations for artists.

I enrolled for Form 1 at Terry Goss in 1988 with a vision of becoming a cartoon investor in the form of American entrepreneur Mr Walt Disney, but that was given a blow by the compulsory allocation of Agriculture as a practical subject to my Form 1-4 North class, although my fellow artists Ayam Maeresa, Andrew Midzi, Pesanai Nago and I just needed to do Technical Graphics, not Agriculture.

The four of us had already formed an arts club called Mansir Graphics that included my young brother, Isaac, although he was learning at Mufakose Secondary (now High) School.

Those who began the imposition of practical subjects on students in secondary schools killed our future, and I wonder if they can put a smile after reading this episode.

Surprisingly enough, a non-academic official, Mr Peter Mukuna, the then Public Relations Manager for Triangle Estates, in 1989, chose to give space for my cartoons in a company newsletter called Mhara News (now rebranded as Ramangwana) when we had school heads Sithole “Banco,” Chegovo and Muzorori with their band of teachers like Kashora, Dube, Pambuka, Mahachi, Chituni, Gwangwava, Chikerema, Makonese, Ndofirepi, Magwidi, Mashamhanda and Matongo. Only Mr Mashamhanda seemed to care. Many just looked at our artwork as rubbish to please the old curriculum.

Unknowingly, Mr Danga, the librarian, supported our arts course by borrowing us cartoon books from the school library. We direly needed them to refine our skills.

Artists of my day are still nursing the wounds inflicted upon us by the old curriculum. From our former club, only Ayam and I are using arts talent regularly. Ayam is news editor at Malawi TV.

My heart bleeds when I look at how Andrew Midzi and my youngster, Isaac, ended up heavily involved in Tongaat Hulett’s sugar cane growing as junior management in Triangle Estates. Pesanai Nago is teaching in Chipinge. These skilled souls just required to direct their own art studios.

Today’s young artists have armoury on their side, as the Government of Zimbabwe introduced a new curriculum which recognises arts, sports and culture as important as other subjects learnt in school. Primary schools usually have fewer problems in adjusting, but secondary schools, haa!

Despite that noble move, don’t be shocked when one moves around schools and sees how some of the school heads and teachers are still clinging to the mentality of the old curriculum.

Please note: we are in a digital era where arts and culture play a pivotal role in development and information dissemination.

Some Chipinge school heads have already smelt the coffee.

Mr Trust Kurauone Chipongo of Mafumise Primary School in Chipinge Central is doing a lot of notable art at his rural institution. A visit to his school will give one a testimony of how the man is appreciating arts as defined in the current curriculum.

Sister Judith Maddy Chapisa of St Albertina Primary School in Chipinge Central launched a Junior Filming Competition at her urban institution last year.

She incorporated mentors like Gaza TV series actor Tapiwa Tamirepi (acting), drone engineer Donald Mazwati Mlambo (cinematography), Elvis Nyanhongo (editing), myself (film directing), Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe Line Producer Tendai Munhazu (producing), and Chipinge District Information Officer Zaine Dube as chief consultant.

Grade 5 students Delroy Sibiya, Wayne Ndinani and Kate Solomons excelled in arts. Delroy and Wayne managed to direct good films, while Kate Solomons became the main actress in two of the three short films that were produced at the school.

Mr Phillip Kusasa of Bangira Secondary School in Chipinge East has shown the world what it means to incorporate culture in schools.

In addition to establishing a model cultural village at his rural school, he has gone a step further to introduce Ndau language in schools by penning books of Ndau folk stories.

School heads and teachers, please move with time. The old curriculum is gone – and forever. Just respect arts and culture.

Bye-bye old curriculum. We won’t miss you.