UNDER the new curriculum, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has introduced compulsory agriculture studies at Grade Seven level. The pupils will be on a continuous assessment from Grade Four and the cumulative marks will be part of the final examination mark at Grade Seven. The first group of agriculture pupils at Grade Seven will sat in 2017.
On the farming side, students have vegetable and onion gardens and an impending mushroom project. For agriculture, children have to work in different groups in their classes and we make sure everyone participates, and record their activities in the Agriculture Diary. The Grade Fives and Sixes in the school can actually tell you all the processes involved in mushroom production up to the time of harvesting. The practical side would help the young children learn to be self-reliant in later stages of life by growing their own crops at home, even at their farms since Zimbabwe’s economy is driven by agriculture. Compulsory introduction of agriculture in schools had even made children enthusiastic.
The education system gave learners an appreciation of their unique identity as Zimbabweans and closely linked the school to the productive sectors of the economy, developing a skilled human capital base that ensures sustainable development of the nation. The new curriculum closely relates the school to the productive sectors of the economy such as agriculture and by so doing, ensures sustainable development of the nation because these children will not just sit at home and be unproductive, they will contribute to the food security of their families and if a family has enough, it will translate to the community and eventually the nation.
The children’s participation in agricultural activities would also ease the burden on Government which has already launched a National School Feeding Programme in schools. Under the feeding programme, depending on availability of food, children will receive meals at school. There is need for the availing of resources so that schools can engage in big projects.
Currently, most students are only doing rabbitry and poultry due to space constraints. We want the children to be successful commercial farmers in future. They should take farming as a business and it begins at school which is the foundation for learners, hence as teachers, we are proud to cascade the dictates of the new curriculum which prepares the Zimbabwean learners for the needs of the 21st Century. According to the new curriculum, learners should engage in practical and theoretical learning about horticulture, apiculture, floriculture, soil, water, plant and livestock management. This learning area entails identification, investigation, problem-solving and carrying out agricultural activities in a suitable manner.
Learners also acquire business enterprise skills relevant to agriculture and maintain coursework records. The goal and purpose of the curriculum is to equip learners with requisite knowledge, skills and attitudes that will allow them to succeed in life, taking into account the opportunities and challenges that they may face. In order to compete with the best in the world, the national curriculum framework must develop young Zimbabweans who are knowledgeable, critical, creative, have leadership skills and are able to communicate effectively.