WHEN Onias Mutadzwa, an information and technology (IT) lecturer at Harare Polytechnic narrowly escaped over a dozen accidents in his life, he knew he was being preserved for a special mission.
“I got involved in more than 17 accidents, and survived all of them. I have then come to understand that there was a reason for me to be alive. I have a mission to be helping other people so they can make it in life,” he says.
Today, he is volunteering his services, teaching people Mathematics through various platforms, including television, radio and online.
“When radio and television lessons were introduced in the Covid-19 era, I had already started doing that way before that. My desire is to see more people passing, which will help improve the country,” he says.
“In the 80s, I realised I had a great talent that could help the country. While in Grade 7, I would always helped other students in my class. I continued helping people and realised that my intuition was increasing and decided to help the country pass Mathematics. In 2019, I then went to the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporations (ZBC) I and have offered my services for the past five years, including during the Covid-19 era. I have been helping the entire country. Most people have an attitude towards Maths.”
Some of the institutions he has been helping include Shungudzemoyo Children’s home and St. Joseph’s Children’s Home, including other established schools such as Girls High School, Highfield High School and Mufakose among others.
His services are coming at a time when the national pass rate has been hovering lowly, raising fears of a plunge in the country’s hopes of promoting scientific innovation.
For instance, in 2023, a total of 185 021 pupils wrote five or more subjects and 54 420 passed five or more subjects with a Grade C or better giving an overall percentage pass rate of 29,41%.
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While the current pass rate is a 0.45% shift from last year’s 28.96%, the situation has been horrendous in some districts, with official statistics showing that 18 secondary schools in Binga scored 0% in their O’ Level exam results.
Zimbabwe has been hinging its science development agenda on the Education 5.0 philosophy, which promotes science and the manufacture of end products.
Education 5.0 also promotes the use of new technologies to provide more humanized teaching, with a focus on students' social and emotional development and solutions that improve life in society.
However, the long-held fear for Mathematics has been looming and gripping several students, with a likelihood of derailing targets of the philosophy.
“My desire is for everyone to be good at Mathematics. I was given the permission and clearance by the Ministry of Education to move around schools and I have been running some free workshops. I was wondering if the government would now come in to help me, because I believe the best way to deal with the issue is to get to teach the teachers first.
“I have been helping students, and they have been passing, but this has been very slow. I was wondering if the government would help me, because the resistance I have been getting from other schools is tremendous. Therefore, I was wondering if they could help me because I have been operating as an individual,” he says.
His work has not been without challenges.
While the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education granted him permission to carry out Math workshops in schools in Harare Metropolitan Province, he has been facing immense resistance from school authorities.
“You know what happens, at times when I visit schools, I have been having several challenges as I am facing a very long clearing process at the schools, which I think is not right,” he says.
“I think government should also come and visit some of the workshops I carry out. I have been mainly operating as an individual. This will help instill interest in schools and everyone else. In Mufakose, I used to distribute flyers inviting people for free Math workshops, but there has been some resistance. "If government could come in to help, I think more people would get assistance.”
While he has been requesting for permission from the government to host workshops for teachers, his plans are limbo over the past two years.
“I believe teaching the teachers first will help boost students’ interest in Mathematics. At times we see schools competing to get the best students from schools – or students with As. These students end up failing anyway, because some of the teachers do not know the art of teaching Mathematics,” he says.
