By Emmanuel Mbowa
Freetown 24th November 2015 -The Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) has urged the government to provide adequate teaching and learning materials for the 5 Streams system, which covers 76 subjects at the Senior Secondary School (SSS) level, ahead of 2028 when the new curriculum is expected to be fully operational.
Foday Kuyateh, Western Regional Secretary of SLTU, raised the concern during the Truth Education Platform, stressing that the success of the curriculum depends on the resources available to teachers and students.
“Unlike developed nations where kindergartens are familiar with computers, how many of our children have access to learning materials like computers? Our worry here as SLTU is to see the government provide the materials for the children because there are still challenges with teaching and learning materials, as teachers themselves are complaining,” Kuyateh explained.
He emphasized that the government must ensure every Junior Secondary School (JSS) and SSS has computer labs, particularly for students in the Sciences and Technologies stream.
As the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education prepares for full implementation of the new curriculum by 2028, Kuyateh noted that subjects in the Sciences and Technologies faculty, along with other streams, are crucial to equipping students with hands‑on skills to address Sierra Leone’s socio‑political and economic challenges.
He further called for collaboration with universities and teacher training colleges to incorporate new subjects into their programs.
“We ask that the government meet with the teaching colleges and universities to see how best they could incorporate some of these as subjects on which teachers can be trained. For instance, if a teacher could get an HTC in Computer Science or a Bachelor’s in Education in Robotics, Politics and Governance, ICT, Food Security, Engineering, Bio‑Engineering, Adolescent Health and Life‑Skills, Entrepreneurship, Dance and Culture, and Civics,” he said.
Kuyateh also recommended remedial classes and in‑service training for teachers who may not have the opportunity to pursue higher education.
“For teachers who teach Government, they can take advantage of the holidays to take remedial classes or in‑service training on Politics and Governance. If this goes on every holiday, the teacher would have a better understanding of the subjects,” he added.
He urged teachers to remain patient and continue teaching the 37 subjects from both curricula, noting that within two years many students will have familiarized themselves with the new system. “There are slight differences in the subjects, but I believe our teachers will cope, get some materials, and take our children along,” he said.
However, Kuyateh warned that failure to provide the necessary resources would undermine the government’s promises.
“If we notice that a lot of these are not in place like the government has said, then we will be mad and we will tell them that they haven’t tried. This was not what was initially planned and promised,” he admonished.
He concluded by stressing that by 2028, computer labs must be available in all schools to ensure students taking computer science exams can be self‑reliant, even if they do not pursue university degrees. “If that does not happen in 2028, then we will classify this government and the new curriculum as a failure,” he said.
