Clara MakenyaStakeholders have cited poor application of teaching methodologies as the cause of mass failure and are demanding for immediate reconciliation, saying a key method is the mainstreaming of Education for Sustainable Consumption (ESC).
Speaking yesterday in Dar es Salaam, during a seminar convened by a cross-section of education stakeholders and development partners, the National Officer of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Regional Office for Africa United Nations Tanzania, Clara Makenya said in order to solve the education crisis the lack of competence on the part of instructors must be addressed.
To achieve this redress, she reaffirmed UNEP’s support to ESC both financially and technically. Makenya explained that among strategies to be adopted is the Reviewing and Analysing of existing national policy frameworks and initiatives relevant to ESC.
Review will be accompanied by multi-stakeholder national roundtable discussions with policy makers and education experts.
Other strategies are to include the development and dissemination of national guidelines and recommendations on ESC to relevant ministries.
Further, piloting proposed guidelines prior to the dissemination and their wide application of the necessary policy instruments and related implementation of the national strategy on ESC.
Robert Lwikolela, the Environmental Education Coordinator at the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training also revealed strategies that will help ease impartation of skills and their application at both national and local levels.
“We want to establish in-service training for teachers to offer relevant lessons that are practical and applicable in the context of environment and time rather than simply copying material from text books,” he said.
ESC was introduced in 2011under the UNEP’s global project titled “Institutional Strengthening of Education for Sustainable Consumption” that was developed in the framework of the Marrakech Task Force on Education for Sustainable Consumption in support of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) of (2005-2014).
The seminar was attended by Prof. Eustella Bhalalusesa, the Commissioner for Education in Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, the Directors from the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, Zonal Chief Inspector of Schools, Regional Education Officers, Municipal and District Education Officers, Teacher Training College Principals and Representatives from other related Government Departments, Civil Society Organizations as well as Development Partners.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
