Government revamps education curriculum

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PRIMARY and Secondary Education minister Lazarus Dokora yesterday said the government was in the process of reviewing the country’s education curriculum

PRIMARY and Secondary Education minister Lazarus Dokora yesterday said the government was in the process of reviewing the country’s education curriculum as part of efforts to strengthen a needs-driven education system.

NOKUTHABA DLAMINI OWN CORRESPONDENT

Officially opening the Southern African Association for Educational Assessment strategic workshop for chief executive officers in Victoria Falls yesterday, Dokora said Zimbabwe’s education curriculum lacked balance and the government had embarked on a comprehensive review process in which the Zimbabwe School Examination Council (Zimsec) was a key participant.

“Our curriculum has lacked balance; our core subjects are largely academic such as geography, English, indigenous literature, mathematics, science and history.

“Zimbabwe is embarking on a comprehensive curriculum review process,” he said.

Dokora added that the sector needed strengthening through a needs-driven education system which would have strong scientific, vocational and technical bias as it would also stress a strong value system.

“The new curriculum reading from the new national economic imperatives will have a strong scientific, vocational and technical bias,” he said.

“It will also stress a strong value system while we continue to rely on the same high quality assessments.”

The minister said education was an empowering component which needed to be exploited to the maximum as captured in the new development blueprint ZimAsset which sought to empower communities and individuals while growing the national economy.

The workshop, which runs up to March 21 and is being attended by seven Sadc countries represented by their various examination councils and is meant to craft a five-year strategic plan.

It comes against the backdrop of dismal performances by schools in public examinations from Grade Seven to ‘A’ Levels.

Zimbabwe’s education system was once among the best and at one time had the highest literacy rate on the continent before dropping behind Tunisia, but standards are on a free fall.

Deterioration in the education system could be attributed to the flagging economy and funding problems, dumbing down of learning and examination standards, mushrooming of poor private schools and colleges, growing number of low-class universities, lack of commitment by teachers and students and corruption in terms of entrance requirements, studies and examinations.

Besides the economic crisis and funding problems, there were also problems of localising examinations which led to corruption and cheating through the opening and selling of exam papers, deterioration of learning and examination standards and mushrooming of private schools, colleges and universities offering poor quality education.