By: Jeremiah Nutsugah
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), has explained that the new secondary education curriculum is more flexible and emphasis-driven than its predecessor.
The Ministry of Education embarking on a set of reforms to secondary education and these reforms is to ensure that all secondary education graduates have the skills and competencies to progress and succeed in further studies, the world of work and adult life.
Speaking at the GNAT Hall on Friday, June 28, 2024, during the Secondary Education Curriculum Development stakeholders’ engagement, The Deputy Director-General of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), Mr. Matthew Owusu stated that the new curriculum prioritizes 21st-century skills and competencies, which foster critical thinking in problem-solving.
“We believe that these skills and competencies are essential for our learners to progress and succeed in their fields of work and further studies,” he emphasized.
Mr. Owusu also highlighted that the new curriculum places a premium on Ghanaian values, stressing that “while skills are crucial, they are meaningless without cherished values like patriotism, honesty, empathy, and respect.”
Additionally, the curriculum introduces subject combinations, offering learners flexibility, unlike the rigid old system.
“Now, a learner pursuing science-related subjects like physics and chemistry can also study French, making the curriculum more flexible,” he explained.
Mr. Owusu also underscored the need for an inclusive curriculum, citing the neglect of certain groups, such as the blind, who were previously denied the opportunity to study mathematics at the senior high school level.
“This curriculum has introduced a mathematics curriculum for our blind brothers and sisters, enabling them to pursue any program they desire,and one thing about this curriculum is that it is also learner-centered. Learner-centered in the sense that the chart is being placed at the center of the teaching and learning world episode”, he added.
