Africa-Press – Uganda. Most parents with children in Senior One and Two, will admit to having difficulties in understanding the new curriculum that is being implemented for lower secondary classes across the country.
The new curriculum that was rolled out in February 2020 is meant to be learner-based. This means it is geared towards helping the learners in their areas of competence. It also reduces the number of subjects the students study, providing more time for them to focus on a few
The new curriculum has many advantages as has been expressed by academics and education experts. For starters, focusing on the learners and their competencies allows each student to not just learn but thrive in school, as opposed to before where the focus was on the curriculum.
Secondly, the assessment of students’ work throughout the four years will take up 20 percent of their marks in addition to the 80 percent that will come from the final national exams done in the fourth year. This means students need to steadily work towards achieving good results throughout the four years and not just the fourth year.
The current struggle is however getting the important stakeholders including parents, teachers and the students themselves to understand how the new curriculum works, what has changed, and what is required of them.
Many teachers still do not understand the new curriculum and why it has been introduced. This means it will be difficult for them to teach the students if they have not grasped its importance, and how it works.
It is also possible that schools might need to introduce more elective subjects, provide more equipment or expertise, or provide different ways for the students to learn.
This might mean an increase in tuition for the students. If parents are not aware of all these changes, they will find it hard to appreciate the needs of the school.
Many parents are also finding it hard to understand the termly reports. The grading has changed completely and the explanation on the report cards is minimal.
The curriculum looks good, “on paper” as they say. In order for it to work, there needs to be a general acceptance and appreciation of it by the main stakeholders.
This can only be done with constant awareness. The ministry should ensure the schools are continuously training their teachers and that the students are also being taken care of. They should also urge the schools to hold awareness talks with the parents to enlighten them so they too can come on board.
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