The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Professor Paul Mavima has revealed that the government will be reviewing the new curriculum to address concerns from parents and teachers. However, the minister is upbeat about the review saying that is will address contentious issues such as tasks. The new curriculum which was introduced under the tenure of the much-maligned former minister of education Lazarus Dokora has produced a lot of debate with some criticising it for being resource intensive. Many have also criticised the manner of its implementation arguing that it was rushed. Said Mavima
I am still waiting for a full report from the technical team, but we will be making a few adjustments (to the new curriculum) before the end of the month. The issue of tasks – that they be streamlined – the issue of continuous assessment, needs a redo.
Speaking at a curriculum review meeting organised by the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe last week, Mavima said:
Our objective is to have a competency-based curriculum so that we create the competencies and skills that are required to move our country forward.
When everything is said and done, there are certain skills that we are pushing for. We are looking for a learner who when they go through their studies, can look at a problem and start seeing solutions to them. The whole idea of innovation starts at infant level in countries like China.
We cannot be stuck in the 20th century when things are moving so fast now. We cannot train children for jobs we do not know if they will still be around in the future, but what you can train for is someone who can quickly adapt and offer themselves as value creators in any job situation they find themselves. That is the type of thing we are pushing for as far as this curriculum is concerned.
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