The Ministry of Education has transformed the Academic Production Unit-APU- into what is called Open Learning classes.
Education Permanent Secretary, James Mulungushi says the Open Learning classes will be controlled by the Ministry of Education rather than by individual schools.
Dr Mulungushi said this in a statement issued to ZNBC news in Lusaka on Tuesday.
He said the Ministry will develop an open learning operational policy to guide how the program should be managed.
DR MULUNGUSHI said under Open learning classes, pupils will pay the same fees that apply for the rest of the learners at each school.
He said out of the user fees paid by open learners, teachers will receive an allowance for the extra work.
Government last week announced the abolish ment of APU classes.
[ ZNBC ]
fili ekotuleya… Zed ni ziko lamutendele
But the fo.olish Dora Siliya told us that the APU pupils will just be assimilated into the ‘normal day classes’, she NEVER talked about Open Learning. This means APU stays, its just the name and control that has changed. But why didn’t chi Dora as Minister know and explain this before????? ukubwatabwata fye!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This Mulungushi chap is in trouble trying to justfy silly dora’s campaigns which will destroy education. However,If district education offices will be paying teachers out of the little money they will be paying, this means very poor education standards and total confusion because district education offices will be getting a lion’s share out of that money for doing nothing.
Open learning is similar to distance education. Pupils will be given material to read and then be allowed contact time with teachers at regular intervals, say seven days in a month. Teaching aids such as recorded lessons and online material may be used. I don’t know if this has been tried before for secondary school pupils; there are serious challenges with this mode of learning.
Just an excuse due to the out cry by all concerned #4 your points make a lot of sense.So if the money was collected by individual schools, why not just change the mode of payment and let everything remain as it was? These MMD ah
OMG GRZ is taking over. Here comes confusion!!!!
Let them explain the open learning theory more. I bet its just the same as APU but with a changed name and Dollar Sillier meking sure all the money goes to the Govt for campaign!
for me i think the PS should have clearly defined what this open learning is. why is it better than APU. because it seems as those there is just a change of name. any one out there with facts? let these chaps in education explain what this is? it may be pure rubbish
Implementation before Evaluation…chalo cha vizende! Where else has this worked?
Frying pan into the fire situation ? Seems like it.Ba Dora, so enshi iyi mwapanga ? You are solving nothing here.
#8 Open learning by definition is simply learning without having to sit in class every day. Learning by correspondence or distance is one example of open learning. There are other ways that open learning can be pursued but the point is that students do not sit in class like is done under full time learning. An example of people who practice open learning are those that are re-writing some subjects in the ECZ grade nine or twelve exams. They just obtain syllabuses and read on their own, or hire private tutors. At the end they write the same exams as full time pupils.
#11 i get i and thanks but i just wonder if that is how the ministry will operate it. from press reports hoping they were not lying the quoted dora that there are enough classes to accommodate everyone. if the ministry is planning to do according to your definition then it does not tie up with what dora said. but i wish they ministry could give us an official position instead of debating rumours.
going by your definition that type of education should be a choice not on imposion by gov on a group of people who may not even want it.
Open learning is ‘open to learners to learn (1)when they want- timing,duration (2)how they want- modes of learning and (what they want-content. Thus to change APU to O.L is misleading& denying the real meaning of the concept. If anything APU shud rightfuly be called afternoon classes/ session.