So I went to the grocery store, as I often do on Thursdays because it is the day one of the two weekly English-language newspapers comes out. So in addition to my fruits and veggies, I catch up on the latest goings on here and what a smattering of English language news sources from around the world have decided is important (they run stories from the Guardian (UK), Yahoo (US), BBC, Reuters, South African papers). It is always interesting. Today's issue was very heavy when I picked it up--the paper averages about 45 pages--4 or 5 in Sesotho, 10 on random business stuff cribbed from other sources and a bunch of pages announcing government contracts in addition to a few pages of local news and sport. Getting home I wondered if it was full of Christmas adds (despite the 80 degree plus Fahrenheit temperatures we have been having with lots of big summer thunderstorms), but I quickly realized it was the start of a different season here: exam result season.
Sitting in every newspaper purchased (for five rand...about 50 US cents), was a 130 page supplement that showed the results of the Primary School Leaving Exam. Every student in the country, every school in the country, listed in black and white for every other person in the country to examine. This was just the results of those who finished their 7th (and final) year of primary school. The other students who have to take the big, high-stakes exams (those who finished their 3rd year of high school--basically sophomores--and those seniors who finish high school) will also get the same royal, or ignominious, treatment when their results are announced in the New Year. Now there are some advantages to the system--I could check and see how the children of my friends who were finishing primary did this year, right down to the individual subjects (they show the results for English, Sesotho, Science, Social Studies and Math for primary), which was nice, so I can congratulate her next time I see her. And you can check to see which schools are not getting very many students to pass. I know students use these numbers to see which schools they want to attend to get the best results and parents peruse it to see which school is going to best serve their children.
But in another light, it assumes that all schools and students are equal and by pasting the results there for all to see, the students and schools who didn't do as well are there too for everyone to see and potentially criticize. Is it really fair to compare an English-medium primary school in Maseru whose students are children of government ministers, whose school has running water and electricity and access to internet and all the modern amenities Americans would expect from a primary school to a small mountain primary where the students come part-time when they aren't herding animals, that has no electric, possibly a communal tap for water if they are lucky and is hours on foot from the nearest post office, not to mention telephone service or internet access, which struggles to recruit qualified teachers because it is so remote.
As a once and future teacher I think accountability is important in education, as in any other field, and low-performers need to find ways to bring up the level of education for their students' sake. However, I feel that this particular rite of summer here is one that doesn't necessarily contribute to the furthering of educational aims here. People accept it, however, and even look forward to the results coming out every year. It is great for those who do well (they also publish the Top 10 list of students who got the best average), but I can't help but feel it is a bit unfair. I remain unconvinced on some level that this public shaming of schools and students that are not starting from a level playing field, but are being treated like they are, does some harm. What exactly the harm is I cannot say, but my impression is that it does not encourage those who have not passed to try again for fear of being named two years in a row, publicly, as a failure. There is no rule that says students can't try again next year, but especially for the Primary School exam, this naming and shaming seems a bit harsh.
