By Thomas Dixon
FREETOWN, Nov. 10 (SALONE TIMES) – The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education has ended a two weeks training for about 45,000 teachers and school authorities across the regions of Sierra Leone on the implementation of the reviewed subject syllabuses.
The Director of Curriculum Development and Research in the Ministry, Osman Kamara reported that the Ministry has reviewed the 2015 subject syllabuses in line with the new curriculum framework which fits into the vision of the Free Quality School Education Program.
Mr. Kamara further maintained that the new curriculum framework is premised on the 5cs concept (Critical thinking, Creativity, Comprehension, Computational skills and Civic mindedness) which was developed by the Minister, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh. He added that provision was made for Environmental education in the curriculum framework.
A Facilitator of the cascading workshop, Louise Wright said the focus of the training is to encourage teachers to come away from the emphasis they place on memorisation and apply improved thinking skills in their classrooms, such as analysis, evaluation and creativity. She said these skills help children to survive in the 21st century education.
Addressing educational stakeholders during cascading training workshop held at the Freetown City Council Conference Hall, the Deputy Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Mrs. Emily Gogra revealed that the Ministry decided to development a new curriculum framework for Basic Education as part of its efforts to deliver on the desires of the President HE Julius Maada Bio for the development of the country’s human resource capital.
She encouraged school authorities and teachers to take responsibility for what is being taught in the classrooms. She informed them that if they work hard to teach the pupils in honesty to their conscience, then their schools will excel at public examinations and they as teachers and school administrators will be proud and the country will be developed.
“I have been a teacher right from the days of my youth, and therefore I know that there are teachers, who teach only what they are comfortable with and jump the topics they do not clearly understand. There are others also who for reasons best known to them, just do not complete the syllabus” Madam Gogra lamented. She appealed to the teachers and school authorities to genuinely serve their conscience as teachers. She admonished them to be the teachers of the 21st century, who train pupils how to be creative and productive.
