Telemundo Consequences, Zuma And Solitaire Played At Wrong Times In Schools

By Winston Muleba II 

Television sets, laptops, tablets..... certainly have much to offer, and without a doubt are a great innovation. But when it comes to relying on them, whether to be informed or entertained, they can certainly affect people negatively. 

Last week the Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education, Dr Michael Kaingu announced that 66,192 pupils passed Grade 12 out of 122,056 who sat for the Secondary School examination. In 2013 grade 12 pass rate was 60%, for 2014 the recorded pass rate was 55% this made the Minister of Education to ask educational authorities nation-wide to establish the reason for the poor performance. 

For the pass rate to drop so many factors were at play, factors which would have been caused by either pupils or teachers. 

It is perceived that a pupil is either intelligent or dull and I say, “every pupil” is brilliant or no pupil is dull if s/he knows all the factor for success in an exam. On the pupils side, mental approach towards study, how much a pupil is particular about his study, attendance in classes, method of preparing for exam, exam taking tactics and strategies, making good and helpful notes, direction of study, method of learning, memorizing, concentration, confidence and study related extra-curricular activities are some of the factors which make pupils succeed in exams. The afore listed factors if not properly observed by a pupil could lead to failure. This is to say such could be some of the reasons why the pass rate perhaps dropped among other significant reasons. However, if pupils don't get the importance, attention and motivations they deserve while in class from their teachers many fail to grasp the relevance of education. 

Telemundo is an American Spanish-language channel with audience all over the world. The majority of its programming consists of telenovelas (mini-soaps) and series. It is a package on MultiChoice DSTV bouquet which has taken Zambian households, particularly young people, by storm. Telemundo is also one of the factors that has contributed to the decline of the grade twelve pass rate. It is believed that Television sets put in staff rooms in primary and secondary are meant for news and other informative programs, alas Telemundo has by far dominated other recommended and informative channels in staff rooms of various schools. It is suffice to say that some teachers prefer watching telemundo to teaching. The truth obtaining on the ground in the education sector is that very few classes in public schools learn from the first period to the last, this is not because teachers do not go for work to teach them but because some teachers resort to watching Telemundo instead of working under normal circumstances. Telemundo movies do not only impact negatively on the work input of some teachers but also contributing to the poor performance of pupils in schools. In some homes school going children get glued to TV sets because of Telemundo. Wives miss work; maids burn food and forget to pick up children, and young girls go home early from school- all for Telemundo. To sum up it seems Telemundo has brought more harm than good because most pupils have adopted a life of fantasy such that school is regarded as a shear waste of time. 

Zuma and solitaire among other games are also some of the games that eat up teachers time for classes. Having done a survey, teachers and other civil servants e.g doctors fond of playing zuma and solitaire while on duty stealing governments time. It is obvious that playing a game during ones free time is not a problem. The problem is playing zuma, solitaire and other laptop or tablets games during working hours. However, gaming outside of work or even during breaks at the office can help you in ways you might never have thought possible. Indeed, studies show that gaming can boost your ability to multitask, make faster decisions, work better in team environment, and find solutions to real-world problems. 

In view of the government and some non-governmental organization concers and plans to promote girl child education, it is suffice to say Telemundo has greatly affected pupils and especially girl child. Naturally, romantic fiction is irresistibly delicious to many women that's why in society the majority of readers of romance books are women, and so it is not surprising that young girls are so much hooked on Telemundo. Mwansa Chisope once wrote that young girls are familiarizing themselves with the nature of sex through Telemundo soaps and series. Unfortunately, despite the fact that Latin America is largely Christian, these soaps do not reflect the Christian values of chastity and modesty. Ultimately, Telemundo mixes love and sexuality into a fairy-tale, designed with cliffhangers to make it addictive. Once women start a soap, they are glued till its happy ending. And it’s not just about love, sex, and fantasies. Telemundo features several stereotypes that really do no good to the minds of women and young people in general. The idea that love is a struggle or competition between several people leads women into playing out their imagination and creating similar situations, so that they feel like the heroine. With this in mind, it is apparent that Telemundo has a huge psychology impact on many pupils as a result school attention is disturbed hence the poor performances in exams. 

Against this background, if pupils could consider minimizing time spent watching channels like Telemundo perhaps school performance would not be affected. Parents and guardian also ought to ensure that school going children spend limited time watching channels like Telemundo. Furthermore, teachers must realize they go for work to deliver a teaching service not to watch Telemundo or play games like zuma and solitaire. 

In companies that employ results based management, playing games is acceptable as employers are only concerned about the results in this managerial structure. Therefore, as long as employees are able to complete their work satisfactorily and on time, they can engage in other activities including gaming. Although taking breaks and playing games in some systems is acceptable, it is important that the employees do not abuse the system and slack off on their work.