Mwanza — THE Saint Augustine University of Tanzania's (SAUT) School of Education has analysed the 2023 newly Proposed Education Curriculum and policy, stressing on fostering local innovation on the country's current needs including modernization of farming.
They also called for improved learning infrastructure including modern libraries equipped with computers and laboratories.
The meeting, held yesterday, was attended by about 100 SAUT academicians including lecturers and students from the School of Education.
The symposium, organised by the varsity, was aimed to enable them air their views in effort to obtain relevance ideas for improvement of the proposed education curriculum.
Lecturer from the Department of Education Foundations, Mr Eugene Follonja, challenged the new proposed education curriculum by requesting for extended integration of farming technologies in school curriculum so that students in primary and secondary schools as well as universities could be exposed to modern technologies for transforming the agriculture.
Mr Follonja said the education curriculum should further be relevant to the country's geographical location and demographic information, citing the available abundant fertile soil, water bodies including the Lake Victoria, tourist attractions and minerals as the vital resources requiring well skilled human resources for full utilisation in a bid to realise inclusive sustainable development.
"Our education curriculum should prioritise agriculture and livestock keeping technologies since nearly 80 per cent of Tanzania are farmers who need modern technologies to better their production," he said.
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For his part, Lupapula Abel, who is a head of the Department of Kiswahili of the varsity advised country's education ministry to recognise innovation in traditional medicines by developing the innovators academically.
Meanwhile, Dr Nestory Ligembe said the school curriculum should enhance the reading culture by ensuring more libraries are in place.
He called upon the Tanzania Libraries Services Board (TLSB) to assess the status of libraries in primary and secondary schools that are still far behind in terms of having modern libraries, saying the situation was retarding reading culture and academic performance at large.
But speakers differed over the language to be used for teaching.
Prof Kulikoyela Kahigi, a varsity guru of language and linguistics, was in favour of Kiswahili to be used as teaching communication in all education levels, saying students understand better when are taught with the language that they understand mostly.
His view was contrary to Dr Raymond Martin, who called for use of English in teaching and learning in order to equip the graduates and citizens at large with global communication tool to tap employment opportunities and explore latest world class technologies and discoveries.
Recently the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology led by Professor Adolf Mkenda, released a first draft of the 2023 Proposed Education Curriculum and policy which aims on enabling students attain competence and skills, is a shift from Content Based Curriculum (theory oriented) to Competence Based Curriculum (practical oriented) enabling them achieve high academic performance during their studies and success in real life after school.
