Masiyiwa named UK’s first black billionaire

Zimbabwean-born telecommunications tycoon, Strive Masiyiwa has been named as the United Kingdom (UK)’s first black billionaire according to the Sunday Times UK.

Masiyiwa who sits on the boards of Netflix and Unilever is the founder and owner of Econet Wireless Group which now operates in Africa, Europe, South America and the East Asia Pacific Rim.

https://www.techmag.tv/masiyiwa-named-uks-first-black-billionaire/

Teacher’s Union Blame Zim Govt on ‘O’ level Low Pass Rate

TEACHERS unions blame government for the the 6,8% drop in the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) 2020 O-Level pass rate released on Monday.

In a statement, Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president Takavafira Zhou, said the poor budgetary allocations to the Primary and Secondary Education ministry, which is below 22% of the national budget as stipulated by the Dakar Convention, poor working conditions for teachers as well as poor education infrastructure have contributed to the low pass rate.https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-5605172818332652&output=html&h=280&adk=82036120&adf=2429788371&pi=t.aa~a.3562679013~i.5~rp.4&w=670&fwrn=4&fwrnh=100&lmt=1620229154&num_ads=1&rafmt=1&armr=3&sem=mc&pwprc=7406986751&psa=1&ad_type=text_image&format=670×280&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techmag.tv%2Fteachers-union-blame-zim-govt-on-o-level-low-pass-rate%2F&flash=0&fwr=0&pra=3&rh=168&rw=670&rpe=1&resp_fmts=3&wgl=1&fa=27&adsid=ChAI8ITJhAYQzKCWyqf43-B4Ej0AjhSav4As5c2RYkDaO9vu4sp20G1i3g6SA9fV0bb-aUKljYmCImmLGnvjRQUNrWv7m3Qevr-1Yb0pVgr1&uach=WyJXaW5kb3dzIiwiMTAuMCIsIng4NiIsIiIsIjkwLjAuNDQzMC45MyIsW11d&dt=1620229154749&bpp=11&bdt=1098&idt=-M&shv=r20210429&cbv=%2Fr20190131&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3D9563c850c52f5426-229b1dbe3fa700ea%3AT%3D1617103945%3ART%3D1617103945%3AS%3DALNI_MbATqtbQAKJ-EPhezpMNxntcLIi-Q&prev_fmts=0x0%2C1200x280&nras=3&correlator=6921852184004&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=2100670006.1619682657&ga_sid=1620229154&ga_hid=1741556015&ga_fc=0&u_tz=120&u_his=3&u_java=0&u_h=768&u_w=1366&u_ah=728&u_aw=1366&u_cd=24&u_nplug=3&u_nmime=4&adx=165&ady=1410&biw=1349&bih=568&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&eid=42530671%2C21066431%2C44740386&oid=3&pvsid=4055119753750579&pem=614&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techmag.tv%2F&eae=0&fc=1408&brdim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C1366%2C0%2C1366%2C728%2C1366%2C568&vis=1&rsz=%7C%7Cs%7C&abl=NS&fu=128&bc=31&ifi=3&uci=a!3&btvi=1&fsb=1&xpc=rz7h8Qpuhw&p=https%3A//www.techmag.tv&dtd=189

“While the effects of COVID-19 cannot be dismissed in total, the major factors of demotivation and incapacitation of teachers, limited investment in quality public education, poor infrastructural development in rural schools, and useless pedagogical methods of television and radio lessons adopted by government in a situation where more than 75% of students in rural areas had no radio and television frequency, must also be amplified,” Zhou said.

Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) President Obert Masaraure also said a number of students have also failed to register for examination.https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-5605172818332652&output=html&h=280&adk=82036120&adf=681418589&pi=t.aa~a.3562679013~i.9~rp.4&w=670&fwrn=4&fwrnh=100&lmt=1620229154&num_ads=1&rafmt=1&armr=3&sem=mc&pwprc=7406986751&psa=1&ad_type=text_image&format=670×280&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techmag.tv%2Fteachers-union-blame-zim-govt-on-o-level-low-pass-rate%2F&flash=0&fwr=0&pra=3&rh=168&rw=670&rpe=1&resp_fmts=3&wgl=1&fa=27&adsid=ChAI8ITJhAYQzKCWyqf43-B4Ej0AjhSav4As5c2RYkDaO9vu4sp20G1i3g6SA9fV0bb-aUKljYmCImmLGnvjRQUNrWv7m3Qevr-1Yb0pVgr1&uach=WyJXaW5kb3dzIiwiMTAuMCIsIng4NiIsIiIsIjkwLjAuNDQzMC45MyIsW11d&dt=1620229154749&bpp=4&bdt=1098&idt=4&shv=r20210429&cbv=%2Fr20190131&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3D9563c850c52f5426-229b1dbe3fa700ea%3AT%3D1617103945%3ART%3D1617103945%3AS%3DALNI_MbATqtbQAKJ-EPhezpMNxntcLIi-Q&prev_fmts=0x0%2C1200x280%2C670x280&nras=4&correlator=6921852184004&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=2100670006.1619682657&ga_sid=1620229154&ga_hid=1741556015&ga_fc=0&u_tz=120&u_his=3&u_java=0&u_h=768&u_w=1366&u_ah=728&u_aw=1366&u_cd=24&u_nplug=3&u_nmime=4&adx=165&ady=1987&biw=1349&bih=568&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&eid=42530671%2C21066431%2C44740386&oid=3&pvsid=4055119753750579&pem=614&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techmag.tv%2F&eae=0&fc=1408&brdim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C1366%2C0%2C1366%2C728%2C1366%2C568&vis=1&rsz=%7C%7Cs%7C&abl=NS&fu=128&bc=31&ifi=4&uci=a!4&btvi=2&fsb=1&xpc=0yIBq1sa2J&p=https%3A//www.techmag.tv&dtd=219

“The results are a disaster considering that over 11% failed to register and sit for the national examinations. Of course, it’s not surprising that government is always the one to pick positives from a dark spot. It is its sole responsibility to provide quality and anything less than that, we will not accept,” he said

On the other hand, Secretary General for Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA), Goodwill Taderera said the incapacitation of teachers has led to the poor pass rate as teachers could not teach during lockdown.

“During the lockdown, teachers had little money to buy food, cover transport and medical bills and, therefore, not much time was maximised to learning hence the poor pass rate,” he said.https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-5605172818332652&output=html&h=280&adk=82036120&adf=2294557178&pi=t.aa~a.3562679013~i.15~rp.4&w=670&fwrn=4&fwrnh=100&lmt=1620229155&num_ads=1&rafmt=1&armr=3&sem=mc&pwprc=7406986751&psa=1&ad_type=text_image&format=670×280&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techmag.tv%2Fteachers-union-blame-zim-govt-on-o-level-low-pass-rate%2F&flash=0&fwr=0&pra=3&rh=168&rw=670&rpe=1&resp_fmts=3&wgl=1&fa=27&adsid=ChAI8ITJhAYQzKCWyqf43-B4Ej0AjhSav4As5c2RYkDaO9vu4sp20G1i3g6SA9fV0bb-aUKljYmCImmLGnvjRQUNrWv7m3Qevr-1Yb0pVgr1&uach=WyJXaW5kb3dzIiwiMTAuMCIsIng4NiIsIiIsIjkwLjAuNDQzMC45MyIsW11d&dt=1620229154772&bpp=5&bdt=1121&idt=5&shv=r20210429&cbv=%2Fr20190131&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3D9563c850c52f5426-229b1dbe3fa700ea%3AT%3D1617103945%3ART%3D1617103945%3AS%3DALNI_MbATqtbQAKJ-EPhezpMNxntcLIi-Q&prev_fmts=0x0%2C1200x280%2C670x280%2C670x280&nras=5&correlator=6921852184004&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=2100670006.1619682657&ga_sid=1620229154&ga_hid=1741556015&ga_fc=0&u_tz=120&u_his=3&u_java=0&u_h=768&u_w=1366&u_ah=728&u_aw=1366&u_cd=24&u_nplug=3&u_nmime=4&adx=165&ady=2059&biw=1349&bih=568&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&eid=42530671%2C21066431%2C44740386&oid=3&pvsid=4055119753750579&pem=614&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techmag.tv%2F&eae=0&fc=1408&brdim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C1366%2C0%2C1366%2C728%2C1366%2C568&vis=1&rsz=%7C%7Cs%7C&abl=NS&fu=128&bc=31&ifi=5&uci=a!5&btvi=3&fsb=1&xpc=budv6CB3k0&p=https%3A//www.techmag.tv&dtd=897

It is puzzling that Zimsec has the temerity to justify such poor results by pointing to previous poor results (rather than previous good results) and unnamed countries that allegedly went into national lockdown due to COVID-19 and experienced a decrease in pass rates.”.

However, ZIMSEC spokesperson Nicky Dlamini blamed the low pass rate on the reduced number of candidates who sat for the examinations as a result of the COVID-19 disruptions to the education calendar.

“There was a decrease in candidature of 32 365, thus translating to a percentage decrease of 11%. A total of 264 099 candidates sat for the November 2020 O-Level examinations as compared to 296 464 candidates who sat for the same examinations in 2019,” she said.