When the results of the 2023 NSSCO grade 11 were released last month, they revealed that a paltry one-quarter of the learners who sat for examinations last year passed to proceed to Advanced Subsidiary (AS) (grade 12) level, the nation was in mourning literally. Not surprisingly so, all were and are still at sixes and sevens, the affected learners, parents and guardians, educators, and concerned stakeholders. The failure rate turned their plans topsy turvy - upside down, causing great confusion.
Deservedly and rightfully so, the nation demanded an honest explanation for this academic disaster. Up to this moment, people have not come to terms with this reality. Some blamed the new curriculum and its implementation strategies. Others pointed fingers at the Ministry of Education, Arts, and Culture, arguing that there are not enough teaching and learning resources in many schools.
Others attributed the failure rate to learners who were accused of all sorts of misdemeanours that diverted focus from their schoolwork and study. Some condemned the teachers for not putting all their efforts into the learners to grasp concepts and apply them suitably in their examinations.
Others argued that the deteriorating socio-economic situation in the country also contributed to the depressing performance of grade 11 learners. A whole host of probable causes of dismal failure of these learners was provided by the society which wanted to find out what really went wrong in the examinations.
Yet, no one could pinpoint the real cause of the learners’ gloomy performance. Perhaps, and most accurately, a combination of all the above-mentioned factors and others contributed to the poor performance of grade 11 learners in last year’s and previous examinations. However, one would argue that the fulcrum of the success of a new or reviewed curriculum lies in the effective implementation of that curriculum.
It would appear that in most cases, new curricula are implemented using the top-down approach that does not effectively utilise teachers and principals who are the foot soldiers when it comes to practical implementation.
These educators translate the new curriculum into syllabuses, schemes of work, and lessons that are subsequently delivered to learners. It is, therefore, pointless to design a new curriculum without the input or contribution of the implementers. What worsens the situation is when the majority of teachers and principals do not get adequate training in implementing the new or revised curriculum.
This calls for rigorous in-service training for teachers to be conversant and confident in dealing with the content of the new or revised curriculum. Considering the huge number of teachers teaching from grade eight to AS level, one wonders how long it will take to have all these teachers go through in-service courses to handle the content of the new or revised curriculum effectively. Logically, the longer it takes to have this training conducted throughout the country, the longer it will take to improve grade 11 results.
Curriculum review is supposed to improve the quality of education, but one wonders if this is the case here. Literature reveals that new curriculum implementation is not a quick-fix exercise in which you get the desired results immediately. Studies carried out in New Zealand, for instance, indicate that curriculum changes did not immediately result in high standards of education. Similarly, according to Zhuwau and Shumba (2018, p. 206), the Zimbabwean 2017 new curriculum implementation faced the following challenges: “educators lack newly introduced content knowledge, resource shortage in terms of time, human capital and materials, as well as work overload.”
The two examples I have cited here attest to the fact that there are always challenges associated with designing a new curriculum and implementing it effectively to yield the desired results.
As I see it, the blame game does not ameliorate the crisis we have at hand, the high failure rate of 2023 grade 11 learners in the country.
It is high time all concerned parties put their heads together - the government, the public, and the private sector - to address some of the critical challenges that come with the implementation of the new curriculum. I am convinced that if our educators are given adequate training in the form of in-service training to handle the content knowledge of the new curriculum, and schools are well-resourced, the grade 11 pass rate will improve.
Also improving the conditions of service for our valuable educators will make them love their profession more and put all their energies into educating their learners.
There is no doubt that our educators are key in the education crisis and that they need everyone’s support to discharge their duties efficiently and effectively. Together we can!
- kjairos@gmail.com
* Jairos Kangira is a professor of English at the University of Namibia.