Why it is wrong to rush the school syllabus
Some school principals celebrate the completion of the syllabus earlier than prescribed.
But covering the syllabus in a shorter period than is recommend raises questions about the quality of management and delivery of the curriculum.
The syllabus, or scope and sequence are a list of all the ideas, concepts and topics to be covered in a subject.
Scope and sequence provide a structure for learning by helping teachers to present the learning material in a coherent order.
This supports student learning and maximises further learning opportunities for both students and teachers. Without this important guidance, students could miss important details.
The Ministry of Education, in conjunction with the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) has designed curriculum to be covered in a period of eight years and four years for the primary and secondary education respectively.
Section 84 of the Basic Education Regulations, 2015, prescribes official instructional time as between 8.00am to 3.30pm from Monday to Friday.
The thinking is that the 36 weeks (12 weeks each term) is sufficient to deliver the curriculum logically, thoroughly and effectively.
However, some school administrators don’t think much of the wisdom behind the period the ministry designates the syllabus to be completed.
What some do is give datelines, months earlier than prescribed, for teachers to complete the syllabus.
The question principals should be asking teachers should not be “Where are we in the syllabus coverage?” but rather “How well are our students learning?”
Syllabus coverage is not the reason schools exists. Schools exist for learning; they exist for students
Rushed syllabus coverage means that teachers or the school don’t care whether the children are grasping the content being covered.
A student has to master the basics of an idea, concept or topic first, before he can build upon that knowledge.
Many students cannot catch up with the breathless pace of syllabus coverage. The more they cover more topics, the more they fall behind.
Hasty syllabus coverage does not address what is called Swiss cheese gaps. In education lingo, Swiss cheese learning gaps occurs when learners move through a prescribed course with gaps in knowledge, skills and attitudes without addressing them as they go to the next topic or concept of increasing difficulties.
The KICD has designated lessons in lower and upper primary school be 30 minutes and 35 minutes respectively and 40 minutes for secondary school.
This allows content to be delivered bit by bit with appropriate activities that enhance understanding.
Adherence to school hours provides room for students to study the content taught or ahead of the class singly or in groups.
This ensures students strengthen their understanding of the content as they go along.
However this never happens in a school which rushes syllabus coverage. They use the time, mainly between before 8.00am and after 7.30pm to 9.30pm and weekends to cover the syllabus. That is how they are able to finish the syllabus earlier than prescribed.
Education is about preparing children for life. Examinations are but a part, not the whole purpose, of education. Preparing learners for life means allowing them to take charge of their own education.
Completion of the syllabus earlier than the period prescribed is faulty management and delivery of the curriculum.
Syllabus coverage is evidently slurred. Most students cannot, therefore, grasp the depth and breadth of knowledge, skills and attitudes in the subject.
Second, it leaves out many students who cannot keep pace with the unconventional pace at which the syllabus is being covered.
Third, it neither effectively prepares the students for the national exams nor for life.
Principals who have a long range vision of education don’t rush teachers to complete the syllabus prematurely. — The writer is the communications officer, Ministry of Education.
