There hasn’t been enough awareness about new curriculum – Parent

All second-cycle institutions across the country have started using a new curriculum developed by the Ministry of Education and its partners.

However, there are growing concerns among stakeholders regarding the implementation of the curriculum, with questions raised about its credibility and sustainability.

Assessing the new curriculum on Joy News AM Show on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, Rose Blankson, an Assistant Registrar at the University of Cape Coast, spoke from a parent’s perspective. She noted that the initiators of the curriculum have not done enough public education on the policy before its implementation.

She argued that parents are not fully aware of how the new curriculum works, and this lack of understanding will inevitably affect their children’s academic journey.

“There hasn’t been much engagement. It’s been the teachers – yes, the teachers have been trained, and they need to be trained – but parents also need to guide their children when they come home. They’ll come home with homework, and parents need to be involved. The community also needs to be engaged. How much engagement has there been about the curriculum?” she asked.

Expressing further frustration, she added, “I really don’t know much about this new curriculum and what it involves,” saying that the government has, over the years, implemented many “beautiful” policies but has often failed to engage the public before rolling them out.

She suggested that the public needs more information about the curriculum and urged the relevant authorities to consider raising awareness through mass media and other communication channels.

According to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), the new educational curriculum for secondary schools was introduced to modernize the country’s education system and better equip students for 21st-century challenges.

Some features of the new secondary education curriculum, which apply to Senior High Schools (SHS), Senior High Technical Schools (SHTS), and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) institutions, include a focus on STEM and technical education, flexibility in subject selection, remedial support, and diagnostic assessments.

The curriculum is also designed to provide personalized learning pathways, enhance practical learning skills, and promote digital literacy.