GES receives new basic school curriculum

Pupils in kindergarten (KG) to primary six will from the next academic year, which starts in September, have a new education curriculum that will put a premium on reading, writing, arithmetic and creativity.

Dubbed the 4Rs, the new 12-subject curriculum will provide pupils with the needed foundation skills required for lifelong learning, creativity and national development.

This follows the successful handing over of the new KG to B6 curricula by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) to the Ghana Education Service (GES).

President Nana Akufo-Addo had in the State of the Nation Address last February hinted of the development of the new curricula that will better prepare Ghana’s pupils in school to meet global challenges.

He said the new curriculum has been drawn from “best practice all over the world,” adding there are no shortcuts to having an educated and skilled workforce.

Education Ministry has been replacing mono desks with circular ones as part of the reforms in the sector.

The President again stated that the new curriculum will focus on making Ghanaian children confident innovative, creative thinkers, digitally literate and well-rounded patriotic citizens.

“Mathematics, Science, Reading, Writing and creativity are therefore the heart of this new curriculum,” he said.

The President also announced that in 2019 his government is set to get legislation to redefine basic education to include Senior High School.

“Poverty should not be an excuse for any Ghanaian child not to reach their potential, it, therefore, warms my heart that we are able to say education in the public sector is free from kindergarten to Senior High School,” he said.

At the handover ceremony, the GES Council Chairman, Michael Nsowah said that “NaCCA and GES are committed to working together to ensure that every teacher in Ghana receives high-quality training so that they can teach the new curriculum”.

Training materials including a training guide and teacher resource packs have already been developed, he added.

These materials will be used as part of a comprehensive national training plan to ensure that all teachers are fully prepared to deliver the new curriculum from September 2019.