The Sunday Mail
Harmony Agere
Primary and secondary school learners will soon undertake entrepreneurship studies as the Government fosters a business culture at early levels of childhood development.
The subject is in line with the new education curriculum, introduced a few years ago and skewed towards equipping the young with practical skills.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Ambassador Cain Mathema said entrepreneurship as a subject, could be introduced into the syllabus at the start of the new term.
The Government is yet to announce dates for the new term following the indefinite halting of classes in March to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
Said Ambassador Mathema: “The process (to introduce entrepreneurship studies) has already begun and the subject will be launched very soon.”
“For too long our education has not moved along with changing times and that has affected the quality of our graduates.
“We want to produce people who, even if they cannot find a job after finishing school, can start their businesses. I am talking about start-ups which can go on to be big enterprises, not just small projects.”
The new subject, Ambassador Mathema added, enabled children to take advantage of the resources surrounding them as a launch pad to transform their lives and communities.
He said most schools had land and water, which could be utilised to benefit them.
“Quite a lot of schools have land and water, but are not using the resources to start projects such as horticulture, poultry or other income-generating schemes,” said Ambassador Mathema.
“It is important to engage in these projects because they cultivate the culture of entrepreneurship in children. “We are working with the Ministry of Lands, (Agriculture, Water, Rural Resettlement) to ensure that those schools without land can be allocated land.”
All State universities offer entrepreneurship studies, as a compulsory module, in a bid to produce business-minded graduates.
The Government, however, noted the subject could be of greater impact if introduced at early learning level to enable students to muster its concepts.
The new subject comes at a time Government is implementing a refined curriculum that is more inclined to equipping learners with modern societal skills
