FREE EDUCATION IS CAUSING POOR RESULTS AT HILLCREST – NEVERS MUMBA
MMD Leader and pro-ruling supporter Nevers Mumba says the free Education programme has lowed the performance at Hillcrest Technical School.
Dr Mumba who is a former Pupil of Hillcrest Technical School disclosed this after visiting the School today.
The School which was one of the top Schools is now behind to Girls School like the Roman run Catholic St. Mary’s School.
Dr. Mumba says he has been informed by Management at the School that poor funding has had an effect on the performance of the Learners at the School.
He said he will be writing to the Minister of Education to see how the funding issue can be addressed.
The UPND Administration has introduced free Education upto Grade 12. But what Dr Mumba may not know is that the free Education only applies to tuition fees while those in boarding do pay the boarding fees.
MY VISIT TO HILLCREST SECONDARY SCHOOL
Earlier today, I decided to pass through my former School, Hillcrest Secondary School in Livingstone.
My initial plan was to sneak in unnoticed with my family and just reconnect with an important phase of my past, Hillcrest being the place I turned and decided to persue a path of serving God my whole life.
I was soon swarmed by people and the School Administration heard I was around and they welcomed me to a cordial visit.
I immediately took the opportunity to register our concerns as former Hillcrest students on the dwindling performance by our former school. Although Hillcrest did register some of the top results in the country, it is now far behind schools like Lusaka’s St.Mary’s in performance. We discussed that there is always one or two things we could learn from the schools that are now outperforming the Mighty Hillcrest Secondary School.
I learned that what is highly affecting schools like Hillcrest is the reduced funding that has come with the 100% dependence on government grants under the Free Education model. Government grants cannot produce the kind of top performers that a historical National Stem School like Hillcrest Secondary School, David Kaunda Secondary School, etc need. Currently, the amounts allocated to just feed school children per month are terribly low it’s actually amazing how children manage to stay the whole term.
I will soon be writing to the Minister of Education to see how we can build on the good intentions of Free Education of providing education for all, to develop it further by either increased funding to Stem Schools that are boarding Schools, or indeed to allow some of the schools to charge boarding fees in order to maintain the highest standard of education.
Education may be the great equaliser, but education is never a one size fits all affair. The cream of the nation must be firmly supported as these are our future scientists, doctors, lawyers, judges, And engineers.
LET US BY OUR DEEDS BE JUDGED