Course on new syllabus opens for primary teachers

Takoradi, July 2, GNA- A three-day capacity building workshop on the new syllabi, for 326 primary school teachers in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Area opened at Takoradi on Wednesday. Mr Ayyub Maxwell Morgan, Metropolitan Director of Education, said the workshop is to equip teachers to handle the new syllabi effectively and efficiently.

He said it is being organised as a result of complaints by teachers about how to teach the revised syllabus. He said the Curriculum Research and Development Division (CRDD) of the Ghana Education Service (GES) redesigned syllabuses of basic schools and introduced changes, to help achieve the goals of the new Education Reforms.

Mr Morgan said the new syllabus emphasises the use of "participatory and problem solving skills in teaching and learning, provides for the development of intelligent learners and eventually active citizens, produce individuals with critical and scientific thinking skills. "It de-empasizes didactic and rote learning methods, and guides pupils to develop the ability to analyze issues and make quality judgement."

He said, "Syllabuses in use at the Pre-Tertiary Education level has undergone dramatic revision in content reduction and sequencing, structure transition, introduction of new subject and integration of common topics and courses". Mr Morgan said the success of the reforms rest on the shoulders of teachers and success could be achieved by developing competency and comprehension of the syllabus contents. He hoped the participants would also pursue additional self-tutorials on the contents of the syllabus to keep them abreast with "Pedagogical requirements and speculations of each subject".