Govt rolls out new sec sch curriculum

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) has rolled out the new secondary curriculum effective last Sunday, one year after postponing its implementation due to logistical challenges.

MoEST has since asked all schools to start implementing the new curriculum in all subject areas except where resources for a particular subject are not available as well as to adhere to guidelines set in the implementation process.

In a statement made available to The Nation on Sunday, MoEST said chemistry and physics shall be taught in all 24 national secondary schools, 43 district boarding secondary schools, 48 district day secondary schools, 11 city day secondary schools, 12 upgraded community day secondary schools (CDSSs) and 200 non-upgraded CDSSs which will be given science kits.

According to MoEST, private schools are expected to buy their teaching and learning materials from the open market because books are now being published and printed by the private sector without any control from government unlike in the past when pre-printing selection of manuscripts was conducted by the Malawi Institute of Education (MIE).

The new secondary curriculum was supposed to roll out at the start of the 2014/15 academic year, but government postponed it with just a week left before classes commenced when most schools were set for the new syllabus.

The postponement was due to “technical and logistical challenges” faced in the provision of teaching and learning materials to support the curriculum implementation in the 2014/15 academic year.

Government, through MoEST and MIE, had been reviewing the secondary school curriculum since 2009. The new curriculum seeks to emphasise on science subjects as well as to equip students with learner-centred approaches, adequate and relevant skills to cope with tertiary education and the world of work life in general. n