Mangaliso Kabulika
PRIMARY and Secondary Education Minister, Torerai Moyo, has said the Continuous Assessment Learning Activity (CALA) will be reformed, rather than removed.
CALA constitutes 30 percent of coursework for ZIMSEC exams for Grade 7, O-Level and A-Level students.
The system sees students carrying out projects, which has triggered complaints from some parents, who argue that the extra fees charged by teachers, along with the time and effort required, can be a burden for families.
“I cannot say that we are going to remove CALA, but we follow what people want.
“It will be reformed in response to feedback from stakeholders,” said Minister Moyo.
Primary school students do 30 projects and those at secondary level do more depending on the number of subjects they are doing.
One parent said her primary school child is being charged US$2 per CALA, meaning they have to fork out US$10 per subject multiplied by six making a total of US$60.
“They are burdensome and, as a single mother, I have other household expenses to take care of.
“My child rarely rests because during the week they attend lessons and on weekends they are wanted at school to do their projects.
“I can tell that my child is exhausted.
“At least, if they reduce the number of CALA per subject, it will be better,” she said.