A new beginning for high school education
The Ministry of education recently unveiled its plans for implementing a new high school curriculum. The new curriculum was implemented for grade 8s in 2017. The old curriculum will continue for current grade 9 to 12 scholars until 2020.
Chanel Botha, Windhoek Gymnasium
A new era of Namibian education
We interviewed Mr Patrick Simalumba, Deputy Director Curriculum Research and Development at the Ministry of Basic Education, about the implementation timetable of the revised curriculum.
The new curriculum for grade 10 and 11 scholars will continue to be known as Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary levels (NSSCO) and will replace the current NSSCO grade 11 and 12 curriculum.
The current Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Higher levels (NSSCH) grade 11 and 12 curriculum will be replaced by the new one year Grade 12 Namibia Secondary School Certificate Advanced Subsidiary (”NSSCAS”) curriculum. Selected schools in each region will offer the new NSSCAS curriculum. According to Mr Simalumba, the Ministry of Basic Education is still in the process of identifying these selected schools.
Timetable of new curriculum
Mr Simalumba explained that the timetable of the new and old curriculum is as follows:
Year
First year of new curriculum
Last year of old curriculum
2018
Grade 9 semi external examinations to proceed to new grade 10 and 11 2-year NSSCO curriculum
Grade 10 scholars will write the last JSC exams to proceed to the old grade 11 NSSCO / NSSCH curriculum
Grade 12 will write third last old NSSCO / NSSCH curriculum
2019
Grade 10 first of new 2-year NSSCO curriculum
Grade 12 will write second last old NSSCO / NSSCH exams
2020
Grade 11 write first new NSSCO exams
Grade 12 write last old NSSCO / NSSCH exams
2021
Selected grade 12 scholars write first NSSCAR exams at selected schools
Implications of the new curriculum
Implementation of any new educational system will naturally bring many challenges with it. One such challenge will be that Grade 9 scholars will be allowed to repeat their grade, should they fail. This could be challenging for many schools, as they would need to accommodate the learners who failed, as well as those who passed grade 8. The challenge of accommodating learners will be alleviated by the fact that only selected scholars will proceed to NSSCAR grade 12 at selected schools and therefore the classroom space and teaching resources that they would have required could now be utilised by repeat grade 9 scholars.
Aside from the academic impact it will have, there are many other implications of implementing the new curriculum that need to be taken into consideration. Sports teams in school leagues will be affected due to many learners completing their school careers at a younger age than normal, with the average age possibly decreasing to 17 years. As most senior leagues are u/19, it may lead to schools struggling to fill these leagues, as many learners leave school before they reach those teams.
It will also be interesting to see how Universities in Namibia, South Africa and other countries will calculate the admission points (APT) for university entrance for the new Grade 11 NSSCO certification and Grade 12 NSSCAS certification.
2017 will definitely only be the beginning of a very interesting phase in our Namibian education.
Response to questions sent through the PS office is as follow:
WHEN WILL THE NEW CURRICULUM BE IMPLEMENTED?
Namibia started implementing the revised curriculum in 2015.
Junior Primary (Pre-primary, grades 1-3) was implemented in 2015, Senior Primary (grades 4-7) in 2016, and grade 8 in 2017.
Grade 9 will be implemented in 2018, Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary (NSSCO) level (a two-year course ‘grade 10-11’ will be implemented in 2019. Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Advanced Subsidiary (NSSCAS) level (grade 12) will be implemented in 2021.
1. Will grade 9’s write an external exam and if they pass will they proceed to grade 10, otherwise leave school if they fail. Which year will they write the first exam?
Grade 9 learners will write semi-external examination to proceed to grade 10 and if they fail they will repeat and continue to be provided with learning support. The first examination for grade 9 is in 2018.
2. Will grade 7 be in high school or primary school? Which year will this happen?
Grade 7 is the last grade in Senior Primary phase. It is part of primary school. Senior Primary revised curriculum was implemented in 2016.
3. Will there be an external exam for grade 11, and which year will that be?
Yes, learners write external examinations for NSSCO level qualification at the end of grade 11. Their first examination based on the revised curriculum is in 2020.
4. Which year will the current grade 10’s write their last exam?
The full-time grade 10 learners will write their last examination based on the ‘old’ curriculum in 2018.
5. Will there only be NSSH level for grade12’s and will there be a grade 13 as well? Which year will that be?
NSSCH will be replaced by a new qualification called Namibia Secondary School Certificate Advanced Subsidiary (NSSCAS) level implemented with first examination in 2021. There will be no grade 13 for now.
6. Does this mean on average most children will leave school in grade 11, and on average 17 years old? Will this not impact sport at school where most senior teams are under 19 and not under 17?
Some learners will progress to grade 12 (if meeting requirement), others will go for institutions of further education and training, while others will seek employments or upgrade their symbols with NAMCOL.
It won’t impact sport at schools as learners will even be exposed to better sporting skills, values and the spirit of sportsmanship earlier than before and mature as professional persons in their mid 20s. Also there are some learners in the system who may have failed at least once in their schooling, in addition to a number of learners progressing to grade 12.
7. Will there only be selected school’s giving grade 12. ±How many schools.
There will be schools in each region offering grade 12. These could be schools with experience in teaching NSSCH or performing better in NSSCO. The number could be substantial and identification of these schools is still in the process as the NSSCAS curriculum will be implemented in 2021.
Patrick Simalumba
Deputy Director
Curriculum Research and Development
A new era of Namibian education
We interviewed Mr Patrick Simalumba, Deputy Director Curriculum Research and Development at the Ministry of Basic Education, about the implementation timetable of the revised curriculum.
The new curriculum for grade 10 and 11 scholars will continue to be known as Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary levels (NSSCO) and will replace the current NSSCO grade 11 and 12 curriculum.
The current Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Higher levels (NSSCH) grade 11 and 12 curriculum will be replaced by the new one year Grade 12 Namibia Secondary School Certificate Advanced Subsidiary (”NSSCAS”) curriculum. Selected schools in each region will offer the new NSSCAS curriculum. According to Mr Simalumba, the Ministry of Basic Education is still in the process of identifying these selected schools.
Timetable of new curriculum
Mr Simalumba explained that the timetable of the new and old curriculum is as follows:
Year
First year of new curriculum
Last year of old curriculum
2018
Grade 9 semi external examinations to proceed to new grade 10 and 11 2-year NSSCO curriculum
Grade 10 scholars will write the last JSC exams to proceed to the old grade 11 NSSCO / NSSCH curriculum
Grade 12 will write third last old NSSCO / NSSCH curriculum
2019
Grade 10 first of new 2-year NSSCO curriculum
Grade 12 will write second last old NSSCO / NSSCH exams
2020
Grade 11 write first new NSSCO exams
Grade 12 write last old NSSCO / NSSCH exams
2021
Selected grade 12 scholars write first NSSCAR exams at selected schools
Implications of the new curriculum
Implementation of any new educational system will naturally bring many challenges with it. One such challenge will be that Grade 9 scholars will be allowed to repeat their grade, should they fail. This could be challenging for many schools, as they would need to accommodate the learners who failed, as well as those who passed grade 8. The challenge of accommodating learners will be alleviated by the fact that only selected scholars will proceed to NSSCAR grade 12 at selected schools and therefore the classroom space and teaching resources that they would have required could now be utilised by repeat grade 9 scholars.
Aside from the academic impact it will have, there are many other implications of implementing the new curriculum that need to be taken into consideration. Sports teams in school leagues will be affected due to many learners completing their school careers at a younger age than normal, with the average age possibly decreasing to 17 years. As most senior leagues are u/19, it may lead to schools struggling to fill these leagues, as many learners leave school before they reach those teams.
It will also be interesting to see how Universities in Namibia, South Africa and other countries will calculate the admission points (APT) for university entrance for the new Grade 11 NSSCO certification and Grade 12 NSSCAS certification.
2017 will definitely only be the beginning of a very interesting phase in our Namibian education.
Response to questions sent through the PS office is as follow:
WHEN WILL THE NEW CURRICULUM BE IMPLEMENTED?
Namibia started implementing the revised curriculum in 2015.
Junior Primary (Pre-primary, grades 1-3) was implemented in 2015, Senior Primary (grades 4-7) in 2016, and grade 8 in 2017.
Grade 9 will be implemented in 2018, Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary (NSSCO) level (a two-year course ‘grade 10-11’ will be implemented in 2019. Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Advanced Subsidiary (NSSCAS) level (grade 12) will be implemented in 2021.
1. Will grade 9’s write an external exam and if they pass will they proceed to grade 10, otherwise leave school if they fail. Which year will they write the first exam?
Grade 9 learners will write semi-external examination to proceed to grade 10 and if they fail they will repeat and continue to be provided with learning support. The first examination for grade 9 is in 2018.
2. Will grade 7 be in high school or primary school? Which year will this happen?
Grade 7 is the last grade in Senior Primary phase. It is part of primary school. Senior Primary revised curriculum was implemented in 2016.
3. Will there be an external exam for grade 11, and which year will that be?
Yes, learners write external examinations for NSSCO level qualification at the end of grade 11. Their first examination based on the revised curriculum is in 2020.
4. Which year will the current grade 10’s write their last exam?
The full-time grade 10 learners will write their last examination based on the ‘old’ curriculum in 2018.
5. Will there only be NSSH level for grade12’s and will there be a grade 13 as well? Which year will that be?
NSSCH will be replaced by a new qualification called Namibia Secondary School Certificate Advanced Subsidiary (NSSCAS) level implemented with first examination in 2021. There will be no grade 13 for now.
6. Does this mean on average most children will leave school in grade 11, and on average 17 years old? Will this not impact sport at school where most senior teams are under 19 and not under 17?
Some learners will progress to grade 12 (if meeting requirement), others will go for institutions of further education and training, while others will seek employments or upgrade their symbols with NAMCOL.
It won’t impact sport at schools as learners will even be exposed to better sporting skills, values and the spirit of sportsmanship earlier than before and mature as professional persons in their mid 20s. Also there are some learners in the system who may have failed at least once in their schooling, in addition to a number of learners progressing to grade 12.
7. Will there only be selected school’s giving grade 12. ±How many schools.
There will be schools in each region offering grade 12. These could be schools with experience in teaching NSSCH or performing better in NSSCO. The number could be substantial and identification of these schools is still in the process as the NSSCAS curriculum will be implemented in 2021.
Patrick Simalumba
Deputy Director
Curriculum Research and Development
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