By: Tjizouye Kazombungo
The education ministry has faced stern criticism for the new NSSCO curriculum, which was launched in the previous academic year, is structured.
The new curriculum replaced the previous NSSCO, forming a third major stage to educational structural reforms, which began in 2012. Grade 11 is now the exit point from basic education.
Secretary-General Kavihuha Mahongora said the new curriculum is riddled with issues. He further said that, as Grade 11 is the new exit Grade, learners only have 11 years to prepare for higher education, rather than 12 previously.
“We made it clear that we had a problem with our kids dropping out at Grade 10. That had to be done away with. But then the ministry was scared to do away with it, so they just delayed it by one year, from Grade 10 to Grade 11.
They are foolishly saying Grade 11 is where it ends, but the world knows well that a child must spend 12 years in school,” Mahongora told The Villager.
He said that this was an indication that the education ministry had no direction as they are reducing the number of years that a child must spend in school.
“And then you tell the parents lies that they are not failing. It’s only that they are ending there. The resolution was clear that we should only have one exit, Grade 12. The resolution indicated that a learner must spend 12 years in school before becoming mature. They are undermining our intelligence. They call the AS level the 13th year, but if you count, is it 13 years?”
Last week the education ministry announced that out of 46,977 learners who sat for Grade 11 exams, only 8,817 full-time candidates qualified for Grade 12.
Furthermore, Kavihuha suggested that learners should be allowed to proceed to Grade 12 and have two exit streams, one being higher level, the AS, and the other one ordinary level.
In order to qualify for Grade 12, the curriculum states that candidates need at least three subjects that are offered at NSSCAS level with a C-grade or better in NSSCO to continue with those subjects on NSSCAS on a full-time basis.
According to Mahongora, the newly revised curriculum has elements that were not adequately planned to accommodate the new curriculum.
“The curriculum lacks resource allocation. When it was introduced, they never looked at what resources are there in terms of humans required and what plans they have for the next five years to ensure that the resources the curriculum wants are in place.”
“The policy comes from the old unrevised curriculum, and it’s
still the same. That policy doesn’t talk to the subject of the curriculum.”
This week, education minister Anna Nghipondoka said that learners who did not qualify for AS levels could proceed to VTCs.
“These learners are forced to venture into vocational training or a diploma. How do you build a knowledge-based country as the education system depends only on plans to have diplomas and VTC programs? VTCs are not capacitated, and they are not teaching our people to innovate. They teach how to fix it if it’s broken.”
Education ministry executive director Sanet Steenkamp said that the requirements to proceed to AS levels will not change.
“The AS system is your 13th year of schooling, and your NSSCO is your exit qualification. The AS is a one-year qualification that prepares the candidate who wishes to go to tertiary education for a degree purpose to meet basic requirements,” she told The Villager.
“This is not a child’s play. When you want to go to university, you must start thinking and acting and studying independently to make sure you capture these high-level competencies,” said Steenkamp.
She said that the AS levels’ requirements will not change as the country is benchmarked against international standards and grading like anywhere else.
“We have many classrooms and many teachers. There are already twenty-seven thousand teachers in our system. There are provisions made, and we have issued a circular. We are revisiting two options now for learners. We have contacted our regional admission Committee to determine whether there are open spaces in the classroom after the learners have returned .”
She said that learners who are 18 years and younger, improved their marks at NSSCO in 2021 and wish to go back to full time towards AS class can do so provided there is space.
“Of course, there are other private opportunities such as Tucsin and others and the public one Namcol.”
