Drafting of new curriculum set for February

In an interview on Friday, Minister Coltart said preliminary stages of the exercise are aimed at fully encompassing the input of different stakeholders in the drafting stage of the exercise.

He said the main thrust of the review is to ensure that pupils acquire entrepreneurship skills at a tender age through the addition of more practical subjects in the syllabus.

“The Ministry is heading towards an inclusive workshop set for February for a national consensus and detailed consultation of all the different groups in the drafting of the curriculum,” Minister Coltart said.

“The all inclusive process will involve Zimsec officials, teachers, academics, sectors such as mining, agriculture, law, commerce and other sectors both private and public,” he said.

Minister Coltart said the curriculum draft would strive to uphold “an education with production” concept that is to produce pupils that are skilled.

“We are embarking on a process where the current curriculum will be changed leading to the transformation of the education system. The review intends to shift the education syllabus in a way that promotes entrepreneurship skills at schools.

“Our intention is to make sure the new curriculum becomes one that produces pupils that become employers rather than employees. The focus is to dwell more on the practical side of learning without doing away with theory,” he said.

The Minister pointed out that the exercise would attract the re-training of teachers to ensure that their experience is upgraded.

“Separate to the curriculum, there will be further training of teachers in Zimbabwe. It is more of re-training teachers, especially those unqualified. The exercise is meant to ensure that the skills and experience of teachers is upgraded.

“The body responsible for examinations in the country, Zimsec, will remain unchanged. However, examinations will change in content and in structure once the exercise is completed,” he said.

The Zimbabwean education curriculum was last reviewed in 1986 and the review will take a process of about two years.