Government Assessing Zambian Curriculum to Improve Quality of Education

The UPND government has revealed that reforms to the Zambian curriculum have begun in earnest with assessments of the current education syllabus to understand what should be modified.

The Ministry of Education’s Permanent Secretary for Technical Services, Joel Kamoko, explained that the Ministry’s goal is to evaluate the current curriculum to ascertain to what extent its ‘Aims and Outcomes’ had been met in schools.

Mr. Kamoko made these statements at the opening of an education conference, known as the Inception International Experts Meeting on Designing and Developing the UNESCO Curriculum Resource. He also explained that the curriculum evaluation would entail re-examining student pass rates and success levels beyond school.

Commenting on the impending curriculum improvements, he said, “I am delighted to be part of this meeting, especially that Zambia is undertaking its Curriculum Reform. We have started with the Curriculum evaluation and review to ascertain what worked, what did not work, what needs to be modified and changed for the next time the curriculum is run,” he said.

Mr. Kamoko announced that the curriculum reform would be used as a guideline for the transformation of education in Zambia. He thanked UNESCO for its support for the government in strengthening the curriculum and thus its education sector more broadly.

UNESCO Mathematics, Science and Technology Teacher Education for Sustainable Development Chair, Professor Overson Shumba said that capacity for teachers was a priority. He also disclosed that the Copperbelt University was leading the review and development of new curriculum.