The holidays are finally here and the academic pressure that most students have been enduring especially during the time of sitting the end second term exams has all but faded to a bare minimum. For many, it is now time to relax, visit friends, go swimming and for the fools, it is time to catch up on their relationships with people many years older than them despite all the ‘Sinigurisha’ billboards condemning the act. The situation is certainly quite different for those in candidate classes of Primary six, Senior three and six. With national examination at the end of the year, time is not really their friend right now. Instead of whiling away for a month many will still be thinking about the million dollar question of whether they are ready to sit and pass the national exams this November. Therefore they ought not to relax but to utilise this time to further prepare for the examinations that will see them move to the next academic level. The importance of the examinations cannot be over stressed. It should be quite clear to all candidates by now that these examinations do have a strong bearing to the kind of future one will have. Much as it is important for candidates to get some rest from the hectic academic schedule, they should not over do this. This holiday can still be utilised in more positive ways than just visiting friends and talking about nothing constructive. One of the constructive ways would involve comparing notes with friends from different schools. It is a known fact that schools are all not of the same level given the fact that they have different teachers and policies. It is therefore possible to find that some schools with good teachers may be way ahead of the rest when it comes to covering the subject matter in certain subjects. On the other hand, some schools are often lagging behind thanks to problems like having lousy teachers or changing teachers so many times this creates a problem as a lot of time is lost especially when the school is trying to replace the departed teacher or teachers. A wise candidate therefore would be better off using this time to look at how much candidates of other schools have covered in particular subjects and in case there are any discrepancies, he can ask the colleague to explain the notes. When I was still a student, we often agreed that one could not succeed alone and that cooperation was indeed helpful for the helper and the one being helped. Therefore students need to cooperate as they compare notes and discuss some of the things they have been taught since at the end of the day they are to sit the same examination. Even where the notes seem similar, candidates can still take time to inquire and get explanations from their friends on topics that were not well understood. Where possible, advice can be sought from elder brothers or sisters who could be at the university right now but still have an idea of the things they studied a couple of years back. Where possible, candidates can form small groups of about five individuals for purposes of discussion and revision. They can then occasionally gather in one home and discuss particular topics and do research on others and then share the findings. Parents should also facilitate this process by not overworking the children in candidate classes so that they can have some time for their books. More so, they need to keep reminding their children on the fruits of hard work. In general, this holiday should not be wasted especially for someone in a candidate class. Time should be taken to revise and read more so that by the time schools reopen one’s brain is indeed ready for the national examinations. Chance favours the prepared and this is indeed the time to prepare. November is not that far. ssenyonga@gmail.com
