KEY POINTS
- Curriculum changes focus on holistic education and values.
- Students must now study between seven and nine subjects.
- The system offers flexible subject choices across four groups.
Beginning on Monday, November 4, the Ghanaian government implemented a new curriculum as part of extensive reforms to the Senior High School system. By encouraging character development and holistic education, the modifications want to equip pupils with the skills they need to succeed in the modern world.
Government launches new Senior High curriculum reforms
The previous system has been replaced by the new curriculum, which mandates that students study a minimum of seven and a maximum of nine topics.
In an interview with JoyNews, Reginald Quartey, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment’s (NaCCA) acting head of Curriculum Development, outlined the reasons for this change. He claimed that in order to foster students’ values and influence their entire development, the revised curriculum incorporates 21st-century skills and competences.
The curriculum examines behavioural and social aspects, including values, in addition to the cognitive domain. The goal is for students to be able to make constructive contributions to society after completing this program over a number of years, Quartey stated.
Major changes are brought about by the new curriculum, which allows students to select disciplines that were not previously included in their core courses and divides subjects into four groups.
New curriculum integrates 21st-century skills and values
According to myjoyonline, the General Science program was used as an example by Professor Yayra Dzakadzie, Director General of NaCCA. According to him, there are four groups in the curriculum: A, B, C, and D. All students must take fundamental topics in Group A, whereas specialised scientific courses like biology, chemistry, and physics make up Group B, which takes the place of the former “core science” subject.
For scientific students who want to further their studies, Group C offers extra subjects like electronics, food & nutrition, and mathematics. Group D gives students the freedom to pursue a variety of interests by providing classes in subjects other than the sciences, such as economics, history, religion, and Ghanaian languages. To finish their program, students can only enroll in a maximum of nine subjects.
Before the new system was put into place, extensive stakeholder engagements were conducted to make sure it would fulfil the needs of students and the larger educational landscape, according to Professor Dzakadzie.
