Teachers encouraged to embrace new curriculum
Covid and drought affected rollout
The minister of education, Anna Nghipondoka, has encouraged teachers to embrace the reformed curriculum regardless of the challenges experienced in the education sector.
The implementation of the reformed curriculum has been one of the pressing issues in the education sector, with concerned parents and guardians who have limited knowledge of the new developments.
The minister of education, Anna Nghipondoka, addressed secondary school principals and department heads at Eenhana on Friday to discuss the results of the 2021 examinations and a number of challenges noted by stakeholders in education.
“We really planned for the curriculum reform, but there were a lot of hiccups along the way. We have engaged so many teachers beforehand. Everything was on paper and then unpredictable times hit us.
"Since 2015, the economy has been going down. Then we experienced the drought in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Money went into the drought relief. Now, 2020 until now, we are battling with Covid-19,” said Nghipondoka.
“We knew how many hostels we wanted to build and how many teachers were to be assigned at different schools, but now because of these challenges, it was been a difficult road and resources are limited.
"Education gets the biggest chunk and we want to make sure we cover all our resources. This change is here to stay and it is for us to use it as a stepping stone,” she said.
Not equipped
Education officers told the minister that the curriculum change does not support the current structures of schools in northern rural areas.
“The current reform has split physical science into physics and chemistry, but many of our schools are not equipped with science laboratories.
"Secondly, a lot of our schools here need more classrooms as currently certain schools have 50 learners per class. This puts a serious strain on our teachers,” said Nelago Iipumbu, chief education officer for professional development.
According to Patrick Simalumba, director of National Institute for Educational Development (Nied), the reformed curriculum has improved the standard and quality of education.
“The changes are informed by world trends in education and specific subjects. Abolishing core and extended options in English and Mathematics also improved the results of most learners.
"We have also added new subjects to the curriculum such as motor mechanics, metalwork and welding and woodwork,” he said.
Currently, 121 schools offer the advanced subsidiary (AS) levels countrywide.
The minister of education, Anna Nghipondoka, addressed secondary school principals and department heads at Eenhana on Friday to discuss the results of the 2021 examinations and a number of challenges noted by stakeholders in education.
“We really planned for the curriculum reform, but there were a lot of hiccups along the way. We have engaged so many teachers beforehand. Everything was on paper and then unpredictable times hit us.
"Since 2015, the economy has been going down. Then we experienced the drought in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Money went into the drought relief. Now, 2020 until now, we are battling with Covid-19,” said Nghipondoka.
“We knew how many hostels we wanted to build and how many teachers were to be assigned at different schools, but now because of these challenges, it was been a difficult road and resources are limited.
"Education gets the biggest chunk and we want to make sure we cover all our resources. This change is here to stay and it is for us to use it as a stepping stone,” she said.
Not equipped
Education officers told the minister that the curriculum change does not support the current structures of schools in northern rural areas.
“The current reform has split physical science into physics and chemistry, but many of our schools are not equipped with science laboratories.
"Secondly, a lot of our schools here need more classrooms as currently certain schools have 50 learners per class. This puts a serious strain on our teachers,” said Nelago Iipumbu, chief education officer for professional development.
According to Patrick Simalumba, director of National Institute for Educational Development (Nied), the reformed curriculum has improved the standard and quality of education.
“The changes are informed by world trends in education and specific subjects. Abolishing core and extended options in English and Mathematics also improved the results of most learners.
"We have also added new subjects to the curriculum such as motor mechanics, metalwork and welding and woodwork,” he said.
Currently, 121 schools offer the advanced subsidiary (AS) levels countrywide.
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