Was the phasing out of Computer Studies a good idea?

JUSTISIA SHIPENA
Karumbu Rukira

The school year of 2019 (along with the help of the new curriculum) has introduced a set of new courses, in which none of them, will you find Computer Studies. “Why? “You might ask? We are about to find out.

The following courses are now available at the school of Wennie du Plessis. The courses are as follows: Technical, Social Science, Science and Hospitality. In none of the mentioned courses, will you find Computer Studies. Accordingly, to statistics, Computer Studies has a very low passing rate and the necessity for it is just not there.

Removing a whole subject completely will have its draw backs, not very worrying draw backs but draw backs none-the-less. One huge disadvantage of course was the advantages of the subject itself, advantages such as problem solving and computing creativity. Learners will never get to unveil talents or they won’t be able to choose a career that they know they are or will be good at. Some of the learners are better with computers but how will we ever know for sure now that the subject is gone?

With all that said, the question still stands, was the phasing out of Computer Studies a good idea? Well I will have to leave that for you to decide, as for me, I believe it was a good and bad idea, schools no longer have to worry about the expense of building and maintaining a computer lab but, and there’s always a but, opportunities that could have been there for fellow learners are now demolished.

At the end of the day these changes are supposed to accommodate every learner, not take away their opportunities.

WHY HAVE COMPUTER STUDIES?

The most important aspect of computer science is problem solving, an essential skill for life. Students study the design, development and analysis of software and hardware used to solve problems in a variety of business, scientific and social contexts. Because computers solve problems to serve people, there is a significant human side to computer science as well.

ADVANTAGES OF HAVING COMPUTER STUDIES AS A SUBJECT

Computing is part of everything we do!

Expertise in computing enables you to solve complex, challenging problems.

Computing enables you to make a positive difference in the world.

Computing offers many types of lucrative careers.

Computing jobs are here to stay, regardless of where you are located.

Expertise in computing helps even if your primary career is something else.

Computing offers great opportunities for true creativity and innovativeness.

Computing has space for both collaborative work and individual effort.

Computing is an essential part of well-rounded academic preparation.

Future opportunities in computing are without boundaries.