EDUCATION: Outline of curriculum review

The Government, through the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, is currently reviewing the school curriculum and the ongoing process will inform the Primary and Secondary Education System Reform of Zimbabwe (2016-2020). Below we outline the areas that have received consideration:

New Framework and Synopsis

1. Strategic focus areas and pillars

a) Curriculum reform;

b) Regulatory framework;

c) Teacher capacity development;

d) Education sector professional standards;

e) Infrastructure development; and

f) Centre for educational research, innovation and development (CERID)

2. Aims

a) Motivating learners to cherish being Zimbabwean for participatory citizenship;

b) Preparing learners for life and work in an indigenised economy and increasingly globalised and competitive environment;

c) Ensuring learners demonstrate desirable literacy and numeracy skills including practical competences necessary for life;

d) Prepare and orient learners for participation in voluntary service and leadership; and

e) Fostering lifelong learning in line with emerging opportunities and challenges of a knowledge society.

3. Principles

a) Inclusivity

b) Accessibility

c) Equity

d) Relevance

e) Continuity

f) Respect (hunhu/ubuntu) of interdependence

g) Gender sensitivity

h) Diversity

i) Accountability

j) Transparency

4. Learners’ exit profiles

a) Critical thinking;

b) Problem solving;

c) Leadership;

d) Communication and team building;

e) Technological;

f) Basic literacy and numeracy;

g) Business and financial literacy;

h) Mastery of specific subject content;

i) Manifests patriotism;

j) Recognises and values national symbols;

k) Voluntarily engaged in participatory citizenship (PC).

5. Values

a) Discipline

b) Integrity

c) Honesty

d) Hunhu/ubuntu

6. Attitudes and dispositions

a) Self-initiative and enterprising

b) Self-managing

c) Ability to plan

7. Levels

a) Infant School (ECD-Grade 2)

b) Junior School (Grades 3-7)

c) Secondary (Forms 1-6)

Life skills orientation programmes for five months at the end of Form 4

8. Curriculum structure

8.1. Infant School (ECD to Grade 2)

a) Indigenous languages (L1)

b) Visual and performing arts

c) Physical Education

d) Mass Displays

e) Maths and Science

f) Social Studies (Family and Heritage Studies)

g) ICT

8.2. Junior School (Grades 3 to 7)

a) L1 languages

b) Mathematics

c) Social studies

d) Agriculture

e) ICT

f) Visual and performing arts

g) Heritage Studies, and Family, Religious and Moral Education (FRME).

h) Physical Education, Sport and Mass Displays

8.3. Forms 1 to 4

a) Heritage Studies

b) Mathematics

c) Sciences – Physics, Chemistry, Biology and General Science

d) Humanities – History, Geography, Religious and Moral Education, Sociology and Economic History

e) Literature in Indigenous Language (L1) and English (L2)

f) L1 and English (L2)

g) Foreign Languages (L3) – French, Swahili, Chinese, Portuguese

h) ICT

i) Agriculture

j) Commercials — Accounting, Commerce, Economics, Business and Enterprise Studies

k) Practical subjects – Design and Technology: Wood, Metal, Textile, Building, Art

l) Music and Drama, Physical Education, Sport and Mass Displays

m) Life Skills Orientation Programme at Form 4

8.4. Forms 5 and 6

Streams/Pathways

8.4.1. Sciences – Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, ICT, Agriculture, Physical Education, Sport

8.4.2. Visual and Performing Arts – Film, Theatre Arts, Music, Art, ICT, Agriculture, Physical Education, Sport

8.4.3. Humanities and Languages – L1, L2, L3, Heritage Studies, Divinity, Art, ICT, Agriculture, Physical Education, Sport

8.4.4. Design and Technology – Wood, Metal, Food, Building, Technical Graphics, Textile, ICT, Agriculture, Physical Education, Sport

8.4.5. Commercials – Economics, Accounting, Business Studies, ICT, Agriculture, Physical Education, Sport

9. Assessment for certification

a) 50 percent internal or continuous learning assessment through projects, tests, assignments and soft skills tasks like communication, collaborative, leadership, emotional intelligence, etc

b) 50 percent external or summative learning assessment through multiple choice, structured free response and essays

NB. Until now, all academic subjects were assessed 100 percent through the summative model while all practical subjects were 100 percent through the combination of continuous and assessment. The new thrust is that all subjects will now be assessed based on the combination of the two. This combines the assessment by the teacher and the public examination body. Best practices are found in Singapore, Australia and Finland.

10. National School Pledges of Allegiance

10.1. Infant School

“Almighty God, in whose hands our future lies. I salute the national flag. I commit to honesty and the dignity of hardworking.”

10.2. Junior and Secondary School

“Almighty God in whose hands our future lies. I salute the national flag

Respecting the brave fathers and mothers who lost lives in the Chimurenga/Umvekela.

We are proud inheritors of the richness of our natural resources.

We are proud creators and participants in our vibrant traditions and cultures.

So I commit honesty and the dignity of hard work.”

Curriculum Reform Overview Comment

Education should be not be like a form of indoctrination where teachers force learners into cramming and regurgitating information so they can pass tests.

It is, therefore, pleasing that new primary and secondary education (PSE) curriculum is to be about activities that will help learners to discover and improve their skills to:

a) Boldly confront issues of concern and solve problems;

b) Think critically and question unlimitedly;

c) Be creative and innovative;

d) Learn continuously through an inquiring mind;

e) Collaborate with others;

f) Communicate well.