Africa Focus: Zimbabwe reviews school curriculum to revamp education system

Zimbabwe, which currently has the highest adult literacy rate of approximately 90 percent in Africa, has begun reviewing its education curriculum in order to align it with changing global trends.

Last reviewed in the 1980s, the country's school curriculum is now being seen as out of sync with rapid socioeconomic changes that have taken place both in the country and in the global arena.

The government says the curriculum for both primary and secondary education leans heavily on the academic side and pays very little attention to scientific, technical and vocational skills training, now seen as critical for survival in today's tough economic environment.

"Our curriculum lacked balance; our core subjects are largely academic such as Geography, English, indigenous literature, Mathematics, Science and History.

"In the next four months, Zimbabwe is embarking on a comprehensive curriculum review process that will witness consultations with parents and other interested parties happening at school, district, provincial and national levels," Education Minister Lazarus Dokora was quoted saying in October last year.

He said the education sector needed strengthening through a needs-driven education system which would have strong scientific, vocational and technical bias and would also stress a strong value system.

While government commissioned an inquiry into the country's falling education system which produced a report with several recommendations in 1999, these recommendations have until today not been adopted.

The commission of inquiry was led by academic Caiphas Nziramasanga. The report, which became known as the Nziramasanga report, recommended the adoption of a diversified curriculum that caters for different learning capabilities.

And after more than a decade of dithering, the government now appears more serious to revamp the country's education system.

Three months ago, the government launched the curriculum review process under which the ministry of primary and secondary education has embarked on a nationwide exercise to gather input from stakeholders.

The ministry says it has received input from various stakeholders, and is now processing it before it issues a further statement summarizing the nature of the curriculum that Zimbabweans want.

"The Ministry wishes to express its appreciation to all stakeholders for the invaluable input into the curriculum review process. The envisaged curriculum will shape the destiny of our children and that of the education sector," said Dokora in a statement recently.

As the country forges ahead with the curriculum review, Dokora says Zimbabwe will enlist the support of Iran and such countries as Denmark, South Sudan, Britain and European Union members in reviewing the education curricula.

He said Zimbabwe wants to emulate Iran's education system which imparts scientific and technical skills to pupils at an early age, and hopes to achieve this through strong bilateral relations between the two countries.

He said the government was expecting to complete reviewing the curricula in March this year.

Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) chief executive Sifiso Ndlovu said teachers welcome the long-overdue curricula review.

"The curricula review is welcome in the sense that its objectives and inclinations are very strongly in support of the implementation of the 1999 Nziramasanga Commission of Inquiry into Education and Teacher training.

"It shows that we are now ready as a country to adopt a new curriculum that meets the demands of the obtaining socioeconomic and political dictates," Ndlovu said.

He said the government now needed to move with speed in building the capacity of teachers and bring their skills in line with the new curricula, pointing out that more teachers for information communication technology (ICT) will need to be trained as the subject will now be part of the curricula.

Lucia Moyo, a Harare parent with two minor children learning at a government primary school, hailed the curricula review, particularly the introduction of science subjects at an early stage.

"It will be very good that our children are equipped with scientific and technical skills at an early age. This will make them better placed to survive in this fast changing and highly technological world," she said.

She added that the review, especially the teaching of science subjects, will place the public education system almost at par with the private education system which is already offering these subjects at an early stage. Endi