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Herald Reporter—
Government is this week expected to announce a comprehensive curriculum review for primary and secondary schools incorporating recommendations by the 1999 Nziramasanga Commission of Inquiry into Education and Training. Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Professor Paul Mavima said this at a media workshop organised by the United Nations Children’s Fund to discuss the country’s education sector.

“This workshop takes place against the backdrop of the pending curriculum review, which is expected to start any time soon.
“What children learn is of major concern to us. The curriculum content should remain relevant to the learner, the community and the nation at large.

“The high unemployment rate is a testimony to the inadequacies of the current curriculum. As such, the envisaged curriculum review will involve stakeholders with consultations beginning at school level up to national level,” Prof Mavima said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the workshop, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Lazarus Dokora, said he would issue out a comprehensive statement on the matter next week.

“I am going to have a special media briefing next week once I am cleared by Cabinet,” he said.
He, however, said the curriculum review would borrow from the recommendations contained in the Nziramasanga Commission report.
“I think its common cause in our country that the Nziramasanga Commission Report of 1999 has been implemented particularly in some way and in some way not in a coherent manner particularly by my ministry,” he said.

“We have actually said 15 years after the event, we must actually say to ourselves where we have implemented how have we done, how have we faired? Where we have not implemented we should be full speed to implement and therefore it became necessary to say let’s go back to Cabinet, which assented in the first place to the report.

“Let’s go back to Cabinet and seek further guidance on the next steps in the implementation process, it’s not like we are starting to review the curriculum, but it’s a fact that the review document is there, it’s how to get to the implementation phase that we are looking for.”
The recommendations by the Commission have been adopted by some countries in the region that include Namibia while some have hired local professionals to assist in its implementation in their countries.

Government has since established the Ministry of State for Liaising on Psychomotor Activities in Education and Vocational Training as a way of incorporating productive skills in pupils in primary and secondary education.