Comrades like we stated in one of our posts, consultations for the Curriculum Review are coming soon so to prepare ourselves in advance we have decided to share with you some of the contents of Chapter 12 of the Nziramasanga document that talks about the curriculum. According to the said chapter the Commission was tasked to inquire into and report upon; 1.) the inherited education system as to relevance, quality and orientation in the rapidly changing socio-economic environment 2.) the basic principles and philosophy of Zimbabwe’s educational and training needs and aspirations on the eve of the twenty-first century, and having regard to the challenges of a competitive global environment in the Information Age 3.)the fundamental changes to the current curricula at all levels which include; a.) What society would like to pass on to its youth as values, knowledge, information and skills b.)The immediate requirements for economic development c.)The development of natural endowments and interest of learners d.) The adjustments necessary for the future, in response to the advances in information and communication technologies. Our role in all this comrades is then to assist in judging our current curriculum in terms of its appropriateness to the needs of the individual learner, the economy, society and the challenges of the future. That done we are then to give our views in the adjustments we feel must be included in the new curriculum to improve our education. According to the Nziramasanga document the focus on these improvements must be on: a.) Relating the education system to employment b.)Imparting education for life and self-employment c.)Ensuring a bias towards the study of mathematics, science and technical subjects including computer literacy from early stages of education d.)Developing the unhu/ubuntu philosophy e.)Recommending specific policy initiatives on indigenous languages. To close today’s post on this matter we share with you some of the Commission’s findings as follows; a.) The commission was told that only about 23% of students pass five subjects with Grade C or better at “O” level and the system relegates 77% to failure. b.) Teachers argued that the Primary and Secondary School curriculum lacks cohesion in terms of subject areas as the introduction of completely new subjects at form 1 confuses children. c.) Parents criticised the curriculum for its inability to equip learners with practical and entrepreneurial skills to enable them to do self-help projects. d.) Teachers alleged that there is a tendency to introduce new subject areas without the requisite textbooks, equipment and expertise. Most felt they were not well equipped to teach Aids education. e.) It was said that the curriculum is examination driven putting more emphasis on the ability to pass than on the ability to put to practical use what has been learnt. To be continued……………. VIVA PTUZ VIVA.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 11:59:11 +0000