By: Precious Miracle Kargbo (Intern)
On developing a national curriculum that will cover all major education in the country and to also help reduce the illiteracy rate of citizens, Osman Kamara, the Director of research and Curriculum at the Ministry of Basic, Senior Secondary Education, on 20th September 2023 has affirmed that a structured curriculum has been initiated to help boost national education priority.
In his opening statement, Mr. Kamara reiterates that for over sixteen (16) years Sierra Leone has been practicing education without any curriculum, as teachers and schools solely rely on (WAEC) syllabus to teach students. He furthers that WAEC’s syllabus should not be the syllabus that teachers should follow as they are just an ordinary examination body that has no learners interest, as mathematics and English should not be mandatory for everyone to pass before gaining admission into university, so that sparks the need by the ministry to initiate and create this new curriculum that will attract national attention.
The Director asserts that instead of people asking questions on how it has taken sixteen years before making the step on introducing this new curriculum, rather citizens should be grateful for the collective effort government has taken to get education right in the country. Mr. Osman also asserts that through this time Sierra Leone’s educational system has relied on a curriculum from WAEC which has no national or developmental interest but just focuses on grades scored.
Furthermore, the director said “a curriculum in any country simply tells that, the behavior of students should be shaped, harvest and nurture the talents and kids in the nation as they in turn will serve as a great source of development in the country, and that is what is concerned mainly to address in the basic and senior level”.
Director Kamara, intimated that their step to create a new curriculum was cracked open by the former Minister of MBSSE, Dr David Sengeh who is very innovative to spot out the high number of drop outs and illetrates that has been caused by forcing students to offer subjects that they have no interest on at the end of the day they involve themselves into malpractices just for them to pass. He maintains that the Ministry has no plans to cancel the curriculum of WAEC as they are an examination body but what they are doing is just to introduce and maintain a national curriculum that all schools should be working on.
Additional, Mr. Osman asserts that the first interest of this curriculum is the learners, interest and inspiration so no one should dictate what any student wants to study as the decision has to come from the student alone, science students should do English for Stem, commerce students will focus on business English. Secondly Mr. Kamara outlines that the curriculum focuses on national development priorities which speaks for a sense of patriotism for all students even at early stage to develop the sense of belonging and participation of development in the country.
Thirdly, another new limb that is introduced in this curriculum is the Talent Academy which spans to answers questions that have been frequently posed by students over the years and to focus on the innovative and talented abilities a lot of students in Sierra Leone poses so that they will be an added advantage to the government and the country, as we are now in a global age, Mr. Osman lamented.
Meanwhile, Mr. Osman reminded that Former Minister of MBSSE also help initiated a technical limb in the curriculum which is known as the 5c’s namely, 1 critical thinking 2 creativity, 3 comprehensions, 4, computational skills and civic mindedness which deals with the mind and behavior of students.
He continues that another big invention in the curriculum is Comprehensive Sexuality Education and radical inclusion policies which frown at children in being part of any sexual activity, until 18yrs.
Conclusively, Mr. Kamara reminded that the new curriculum mainly agitates for the inclusion of every Sierra Leonean to be educated, as nobody should be left out as illiterates in the society.