SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC POLICY-CASE STUDIES IN POLICY DECISION - PowerPoint Presentation Example

Education is a continuum characterized by different stages and with different educational capabilities. The essence of education is to prepare students for a productive life in the society. These aspects make it necessary for the government to adopt more flexible policies in order to accommodate more students in the system, rather than employ strict policies that will only function to disadvantage some students. The strict legislation system that will only allow some students to proceed into secondary schools, while locking out other students or forcing them to undergo intermediate stages might be disadvantageous. The approach of selection using the strict legislative system will most certainly be merit. Therefore, the students who fail to attain pre-determined levels of competency in primary school will be forced to endure more years in intermediate schools until they attain the compulsory age where the legislation gives them the freedom to leave school. However, such a system might discourage some students who might be competent in other areas than education or for slow learners. Furthermore, the psychological impacts of compelling certain students to intermediate levels rather than allowing them to join secondary schools could be devastating to such students. The general realization is that such a system does not give students fair chances to attain their potential by condemning them to legislations, which are mainly aimed at locking students out of secondary schools rather providing them with opportunities.
The circular 10/65 perhaps provides a feasible alternative because it gives students options of either taking approaches that will ensure that they remain in school until just after the compulsory age, or they proceed to further their studies after secondary school. The circular 10/65 has two tier systems. These two tier systems ensure that after primary schools that allow students to either proceed to secondary schools or stay in intermediate schools for two years after which they will be free to decide whether they want to proceed or not. Circular 10/65 strongly advocates against a system that will deliberately discriminate against students with the potential to join secondary schools and become productive. The 10/65 circular also creates provision for students willing to stay in school even after attaining the age of 16 even if such students do not qualify to proceed through the conventional system. The circular proposes that middle level colleges be established that will cater for the educational needs of such students and equip them with the necessary skills. The highlight of the circular is that the two tier system provides alternatives for pupils who may not be ready to join secondary schools but who are willing to proceed with their education beyond the government compulsory age. For instance, a pupil might opt to stay for two years in a middle level school. The pupil will the decide whether they want to proceed to secondary school or stay in the middle level schools until that time when they attain the government compulsory age of staying in school. These provisions can allow the government to attain some level of equity when it comes to the equitable provision of education instead of being left out through discriminatory legislations.
However, critics of the 10/65 circular argue that such an approach might place undue burden on the education system through the scarcity of teacher and smaller teacher to student ratios. Despite the fears, the system can still work when proper planning is employed. Read More