KALILA

By NAKUBIANA SHABONGO-
EDUCATION partners have called on Government to slow down the implementation of the revised curriculum to allow for further consultations.
Zambia Open Community Schools (ZOCS) chairperson for the advocacy committee, Michael Siwale said Government should have consulted widely before implementing the structure of the Zambian education system from basic-high to primary-secondary.
Reverend Siwale said the shift of policy did not have adequate sensitisation and required a legal framework to support it.
This was during a public hearing on the opportunities and challenges of the structure of the Zambia education system, which has changed from basic-high to primary-secondary, under the auspices of the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Science and Technology chaired by MMD Lukulu East Member of Parliament Christopher Kalila.
Maiden Publishing House managing director, Christine Kasonde said there was need for partners to coordinate with Government in re-looking the curriculum.
Ms Kasonde said learning material and publishing industry needed to be revisited, adding that the time given to produce materials was not enough.
She said consultation was not properly done and that collecting information of how many pupils and schools there are was cardinal in terms of budgeting.
“There will be no proper learning if materials go to schools in the middle of the year or term, learning hours would have been lost,” she said.
Meanwhile, Vision Partners chief executive officer, Patrick Miti said the policy change was done hastly and would cause complications in the learning process.
He said the shift in policy needed a thorough consultation process and would cause teachers’ reshuffling that will conflict with learning.