How to use volume two of the new curriculum

A new academic year. A new curriculum. That is the reality primary school pupils and teachers will face when they report for the new term in three weeks’ time.Political talk was punctuated by a poem and ululation as Education and Sports Minister Dr. Khiddu Makubuya launched the second volume of the primary school curriculum and the teachers’ guide last Thursday. The ceremony marked the end of a long curriculum reform process that was dogged by controversy over its relevance and impact on the education system.But all is well that ends well. Makubuya now says that all stakeholders are convinced that the new curriculum is the right way forward for our education system. “I am happy to confirm that consensus on all subjects for the curriculum was eventually reached,” he said at the ceremony held at the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) headquarters in Kyambogo.According to the new curriculum implementation guidelines, the different syllabi will be implemented in stages. Agriculture, Religious Education and Performing Arts and Physical Education will be implemented this year. Kiswahili and Local Language will be implemented in 2003. Learners will, however, have to wait until 2004 before they know what Integrated Production Skills (IPS) is all about.The Agriculture, IPS and Religious Education syllabi will be initially introduced in classes one to four. Classes five-seven will continue with the 1990 curriculum currently in use.“For the Performing Arts and Physical Education, all classes one -seven will be implementing the 2000 Performing Arts and Physical Education Syllabus,” said Makubuya. “The teaching and learning of Kiswahili in the year 2003 will initially start in P4 class while the Local Language syllabus will start operating in P1.” Makubuya says that vertical phasing of the above subject areas, with the exception of Performing Arts and Physical Education will progressively advance annually. This means that complete phasing-in of volume two subject areas into the education system will be in 2008.Learners will sit the first Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) based on the new syllabi for RE, IPS and Agriculture in the year 2005. Teaching of the new curriculum will be done in consultation with the old curriculum to allow a smooth change over from the old to the new curriculum. NCDC has accordingly prepared supplementary guides on the curriculum for classes one-four intended to assist the teachers in bridging the gaps that might exist between the old and the new curricula. Similar guidelines have been prepared for the Performing Arts and Physical Education syllabus.“One of the key factors behind this approach is to allow time and space to develop the necessary capacity for effective implementation of the new subject areas,” Makubuya said. “Particular emphasis will be put on both preparing appropriate instructional materials and equipping teachers with adequate knowledge and skills to utilise them on the basis of the new curriculum.”Schools will, however, have to make the choice of the Local Language they want to teach. The only condition is that the language selected should have a developed orthography (correct or standard spelling)—a key pre-requisite for meaningful study of any language.In the meantime, Makubuya says, schools should use the time allocated in the way the school finds it fit until 2003 when the syllabus for Kiswahili becomes operational. Similarly, those schools teaching Local Language should continue doing so in the time allocated to the subject, using the 1990 syllabus while waiting for the new syllabus to become operational. Essentially, the curriculum basically offers nothing new. Agriculture, Religious Education and Performing Arts and Physical Education have been part of the 1990 curriculum being used in all schools. Local Language is not new while Integrated Production Skills (IPS) has been one of the components of science and Social Studies. “This curriculum is just giving more time and importance to the subjects,” NCDC Language specialist, Francis Kaleeba, explains. “All the subjects have been taught in different forms except Kiswahili.”The curriculum developers envisage that the agriculture syllabus will empower learners to actively participate in agricultural activities as a source of gainful employment and raise household incomes. Using the knowledge and skills acquired, they argue, learners will be able to impact the community in which they live to improve on agricultural production and food security.Under Integrated Production and Skills (IPS), learners will be taught Home Economics, Art and Technology, Business Education and Entreprenuership Skills in an integrated manner. Education planners hope that the syllabus will provide basic functional knowledge on practical aspects of innovative production, modern management methods in commerce and industry and basic commercial skills required for self-employment. Kiswahili is seen more in light of the revival of the East African Community than anything else. First, it is a vital regional and international language which will connect young Ugandans to their Kiswahili-speaking neighbours in Kenya and Tanzania. Then, it can contribute towards uniting them across different ethnic communities. And Kiswahili can empower Ugandans to exploit wider business opportunities.Performing Arts and Physical Education (PAPE) includes Music, Dance, Drama as well as Education in Play, games and Sports which children learn and do before joining school. The syllabus nurtures the skills needed by the individual learners to explore their talents, creative and physical potential and the physical development of learners.There is no more controversy over the teaching of religion in schools. The syllabus will impart and promote a sense of self-discipline, ethical and spiritual values while Local Language will equip young Ugandans with language skills that will enable them communicate effectively.So the controversy is over, the curriculum is now place. A lot remains to be done on its implementation and only time will tell whether those who questioned its impact on the education system had a point. As Makubuya said in his final words, implementors should reflect on the saying: “The taste of the pudding is in the eating.”