Annual General Assembly of North West Geography Teachers Association

Deliberations focus on advantages of Second Generation Geography

 

 By Francis Ekongang Nzante

Tangi Simon Tacho, President of North West Geography Teachers Association has disclosed that Second Generation Geography was one of the main concerns of the Annual General Assembly that took place recently at the North West Regional Delegation of Secondary Education at Up Station in Bamenda.

“Our focus” Tangi Simon Tacho said “was on Second Generation Geography for Environmental Protection. Our purpose is to strengthen the teachers and make them know that in Second Generation Geography, Competency Based Approach is the main economic value for geographers. Unlike the Objective Based Approach, in the Competence Based Approach the teacher is the facilitator. He builds in children, attitudes and competences that can enable them solve problems out of the classroom. In trying to do this, we have factorised certain elements trying concentrate on the tacticum of the competence based approach.”

The President of North West Geography Teachers Association also talked on issues affecting the output of students in Geography. He spilled it out in the following manner; “We also looked at the inadequacy of students through their performance in the previous General Certificate of Education sessions. We are also introducing them to GIS so that they can be able to source information because their programme requires them to be able to explore, exploit and export the Geography content into society. Because this will help them see for themselves and be able to combat the challenges that we are facing like the present development trends which do not help us to protect our environment.”

On how his colleagues responded to the themes of the deliberations of the AGM, the President of North West Geography Teachers Association, Tangi Simon Tacho said “Any change is not always easily embraced and that’s why we are taking a subtle approach. This explains why in the previous Annual General Assemblies, we have always enshrined the Competency Based Approach.”

Commenting on the evolution of results in Geography, at the General Certificate of Education for the past couple of years, the President of North West Geography Teachers Association said “there are so many variables; firstly there is the reviewed syllabus to which people are still adapting and the second one is that children leave primary six and are grappling with a whole lot of things that they have to cover and all of this is having an effect on their output including Geography which is now generalized.”

The Annual General Assembly brought together Geography teachers from Secondary schools in all the Divisions in the Region. The teachers present came from Government, Lay Private and Confessional Secondary Schools and High Schools and the rich presentations touched on a wide range of issues all focused on the teaching of Geography.

       

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