New education curriculum framework welcomed

By SITEMBILE SIWAWA

ZAMBIA'S new education curriculum framework which includes the use of familiar languages for instruction for grades one to four to equip leaners with vital skills and values necessary for contributing to the development of society and the economy.

Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education Permanent Secretary ChishimbaNkosha says the new curriculum has also been linked at all levels, from early childhood education to tertiary education and adult levels.

"The necessary career paths for learners at secondary school level have been provided. This will accord learners an opportunity to progress according to their abilities and interests," he says.

Mr Nkosha said this in his summary note contained in the recently launched 'Zambia Education Curriculum Framework 2013' in Lusaka.

The Permanent Secretary said while education has always been perceived as a social sector, it is also an economic tool for development.

In 1996, the Ministry of Education developed the national policy on Education called 'Educating our Future' in order to respond to the developmental needs of the nation as well as those of the individual learners.

"This policy has since become the basis of all the educational strategies that ensures the provision of quality education through suitable teaching and learning at all levels.

It is against this background that the framework has been developed to provide further guidance on the preferred type of education for the nation," Mr Nkosha said.

The framework is the philosophical rationale for the educational provision to nurture the holistic development for all individuals and promote the social and economic welfare of society.

Mr Nkosha said this implies that the achievement of fairness in education should demand for educational policies which value and promote a multifaceted development of the learners.