Education Ministry countrywide consultations in preparation for National Curriculum Reform

…Primary school Maths curriculum first to be reformed
…reform pegged at US$6.03M

(June 12, 2018)-The Ministry of Education, through the Guyana Education Sector Improvement (GESIP) project, is at present conducting a series of consultation sessions across the country as part of efforts to reform the national curriculum. The Education Ministry towards this end is ‘fanning out’ to various parts of the country to garner feedback and suggestions to aid in this process.

Yesterday there were consultations at Anna Regina in Essequibo and Bush Lot in the Ancient County of Berbice. There are consultations planned for Bartica, Mahdia, Kato and Paramakatoi on June 12-15, 2018

The Integrated Curriculum Reform, which is pegged at some US$6.03 million is intended to improve student achievement at nursery, primary, and at lower secondary levels. This will be achieved by implementing a phased revision of the curriculum, defined not only as the content students are expected to learn in each subject and grade level, but also the way in which that content is taught. Emphasis will be placed on interactive, student-centered pedagogies, social inclusion and gender-informed approaches.

Additionally, the reform is intended to bring about continuous improvement in the education system, the reforms will be phased in by subject and level. This will be guided by an overall curriculum framework, each subject course outline will be revised; including revised teaching methods, assessments, and materials to be implemented in pilot schools.
The pilot schools will represent different regions of Guyana, including schools in hinterland regions and riverine areas; different levels of student preparation and academic performance; different sizes and mixes of grade levels; and schools with students with disabilities.

Additionally, the pilot schools will be randomly assigned from a sampling frame in selected regions to enable an impact evaluation.
The Ministry of Education (MoE) intends to draw on the experience of the pilot schools and feedback gathered will inform further revisions before the new subject curriculum is scaled up nationwide.

The first subject curriculum to be revised, piloted, and scaled up nationwide will be primary-level mathematics, in view of Guyana’s challenges in mathematics and the critical importance of improving early grade outcomes for students’ future success. The Project will then repeat the process for secondary-level mathematics and primary-level English followed in later years by secondary English and other subjects, as well as the nursery curriculum.

Added to those the MoE curriculum reform will ensure coherence across subjects and levels. Further, to articulate the desired learning outcomes for each level, the development of a curriculum framework for nursery, primary and lower secondary levels will be done. The framework will establish a vision of the ideal graduate from each level of the school system and a map for the subject-specific revisions of curriculum and pedagogy.
To augment this, training for MOE Staff on current best practices in curriculum writing, teaching methods, and teacher training, including cross-cutting dimensions such as social inclusion and gender-informed approaches will be done.
Additionally, teaching guides and course outlines for selected subjects for nursery, primary and lower secondary grades will be produced.