Elementary schools throughout the country are instructed to implement the standard based curriculum at the start of the 2017 academic year.
Secretary for Education Dr Uke Kombra said one of the changes that have been included in the new curriculum for elementary schools is the teaching of English subject.
Kombra instructed schools to continue to use the current curriculum support materials been used in the schools to help plan and teach the lessons.
Schools are instructed to teach English as a subject starting at the elementary prep grade.
Kombra highlighted that English must be used as the language and instruction in schools, while allowing vernacular to be used in special circumstances to explain difficult concepts.
“With instruction from the Government to abolish the use of vernacular in classrooms, we have now made it compulsory for English as a subject at the elementary level,” Kombra said.
Kombra said when the children move into E1 and E2, the language of instruction is English and that must be implemented right across the country.
“We started the journey in 2014 to reform the curriculum and today marks the achievement of reaching one of the milestones towards implementing the total SBC.”
He urged the education authorities, heads of provincial divisions of education, districts, schools and institutions, inspectors and teachers to ensure that they follow these instructions.
About 7,000 elementary schools in the country will begin the 2017 academic year with new learning materials under the SBC.