Why science subjects need new strategy from low level

The widespread failure of students in science subjects in the Form Two National Assessment (FTNA) results of 2022 has unmistakably flashed a warning over the subjects, which continue to be challenging.

The results, which were released on Tuesday, show that the subjects were a failure despite the government’s efforts to increase the number of scientists in the nation.

The ministry of Education, Science and Technology has been working hard to increase the number of students who pick science subjects for a long time, but the latest results indicate that additional grassroots initiatives are needed to reach the goal.

The least successful categories in FTNA 2022 were science disciplines, specifically Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Basic Mathematics.

The National Examinations Council of Tanzania (NECTA) has released the results of the Standard 4 National Assessment (SFNA) and FTNA conducted in October and November 2022 respectively.

According to NECTA, 635,130 students, equal to 92.00 percent of the registered students, sat the FTNA examinations, including 342,210 girls (93.24 percent) and 292,920 boys (90.60 percent).

In this year’s FTNA exams, a total of 539,645 out of 633,537 students with results (85.18 percent) passed with grades I, II, III and IV.

However, although all subjects seem not to produce satisfactory results compared to the number of candidates, the subjects of Science and Mathematics have left many questions to be answered.

Statistics show that a total of 515,734 students equal to 81.79 percent got grade F (failed) in Physics, while only 2,519 students (0.40 percent) got grade A. 4,874 students (0.77 percent) got grade B, 29, 851 students (4.73 percent ) grade C and 77,586 students (12.30 percent) grade D. In Chemistry; a total of 421,138 students (66.55 percent) have obtained grade F. 11,354 students (1.79 percent) grade A, 13,582 students (2.15 percent) grade B, 66,813 students (9.77 percent) grade C and 124,953 students (19.74 percent) grade D.

In Basic Mathematics; 528, 344 students (83.44 percent) got grade F, while 12, 389 students (1.96 percent) had grade A, 8,532 students (1.35 percent) grade B, 30,674 students (4.84 percent) grade C and 53,246 students (8.41 percent) grade D.

For Biology, 53.04 percent (335,847 students) got grade F, 163,322 students (25.79 percent) grade D, 88,917 students (14.04 percent) grade C, 23, 475 students (3.71 percent) grade B and only 21, 630 students (3.42 percent) got grade A.

One of the strategies outlined in the government’s work plan is to make sure that the country develops a large number of scientists who will boost the industrial sector and the use of technology to promote national growth.

The visible efforts so far include the establishment of scholarships (Samia Scholarship) for students who perform well in science subjects, the establishment of science and technology competitions and some public universities establishing funding for students who do well in those subjects, is commendable. The question that education stakeholders are asking themselves following the results of FTNA 2022 is that, at what level will students be well prepared to become scientists while at the grassroots the situation is getting worse?

“This is the meaning of assessment. The energy that is invested at higher levels must start at the bottom and all teachers should evaluate themselves if this country is to achieve its goals. Otherwise this is dangerous for the nation,” Dr Mussa Balihuta from the College of Science and Technology said.

Ms Beatrice Nkya, a PhD student in mathematics at the University of Dar es Salaam, noted that science teachers at the lower levels must be made to teach students without threats so that the latter can love those subjects. “The biggest problem that still contributes to poor performance even for students who love science is threats from some teachers,” she notes. “Science is practical rather than memorisation, but students end up memorising it,” she said, adding that the relevant ministry should look into that as well.

Meanwhile, a total of 1,718,896 students were registered to take the Standard 4 exams, including 870,999 girls (equivalent to 50.67 percent) and 847,897 boys (49.33 percent). Of the registered students, 1,592,600 students, equal to 92.65 percent, took the exams. 126,296 students (7.35 percent) did not take the test. “A total of 1,320,700 out of 1,592,235 pupils had results, and 82.95 percent of them received grades of A, B, C, or D.” said Mr Athumani Amasi, the acting executive secretary of NECTA.

According to NECTA’s statistics, in 2021, the students who passed were 1,347,554, equivalent to 86.30 percent. In addition, a total of 690,341 students were registered to take the Form 2 exams, including 367,013 girls, (53.16 percent) and 323,328 boys (46.84 percent).