Educate stakeholders on career pathways

The ongoing education reforms have seen changes effected in various aspects of the sector, including assessment and how learners transition from one level to another.

The pioneering cohort of Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) is currently in Grade Eight and many parents, especially of this pioneer class, have been anxious on their progress after junior secondary school, which terminates at Grade Nine.

A few weeks ago, the Ministry of Education had to clear the air after reports went round, indicating that Grade Nine had been moved to secondary school.

However, the Ministry maintained that there were no changes to the CBC structure and Grade Nine is domiciled in the primary school section.

The first CBC class is expected to transition to senior school in 2026 and the ministry has commenced stakeholder engagement on the curriculum, a welcome move.

After Grade Nine, all learners are to transition to senior school, in the spirit of 100 per cent transition and they are to choose from three pathways or ‘routes’.

These are Creative Arts and Sports Science, Social Sciences as well as Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Choice will be informed by the learners’ abilities, interests and career choices.

These are critical areas that parents should be well aware of to also help learners make wise decisions as they move from junior to senior school.

The learners are to move from a broad-based curriculum in junior secondary, which gives them a chance to explore before they can make up their minds on what they want for their career paths.

Senior secondary comprises three years of education targeted in the age bracket of 15–17 years and lays the foundation for further education and training at tertiary level and the world of work, in addition to marking the end of basic education as defined in the Education Act, 2013.

The ministry has indicated that it will soon issue guidelines not only on how schools will be categorised, but also the entire process of developing senior school guidelines to inform implementation. This is a critical stage in career choices.

That is why we encourage stakeholders to take an active role in not only understanding all CBC aspects and requirements, but also in guiding learners so that they can make informed choices.