Teachers of NCD school oppose subject-based curriculum

By LOTTIE WAYAGURE
TEACHERS at a school in Port Moresby are opposing the new subject-based curriculum to be implemented this year.
“We can’t teach the new system because the teachers haven’t received any training yet. And we lack teaching materials to guide us,” Ted Diro Primary School section head Julie Biaon said.
She told The National that the new system would only be taught from grade one to grade five.
The old outcome-based system will still be used for grade six to grade eight.
“We are the implementers, we educate. But in order to do our part, we must be provided with the necessary training and materials to educate,” Biaon said.
Classes for 2019 will begin next Monday. Teachers are starting a week earlier to prepare for classes. But they still lack materials, she said.
“The lower primary schools have already received their guidebooks so they will go ahead with the system. It’s the upper primary that’s going to continue with the old system because they haven’t received their materials yet.”
School board chairman Kingsly Evera said students could be charged K10 each to buy school materials.
“We haven’t received the last quarter of last year’s tuition fee free payments so we lack a lot of things to begin classes this year,” Evera said