COMPARISON OF THE CURRICULUM IN SOUTH AFRICA AND IVORY COAST
Academic Programmes in Curriculum
In Ivory Coast, the government plays a key role in the planning of curriculum, coordinating and allocating resources in the Education Department. The organisation of national exams through the Education Ministry, Vocational Education Ministry and Higher Education Ministry, which are also under the government. On the other hand, since 2009, the Department of Basic Education, commonly known as DBE and the Department of Higher Education and Training, DHET, have been looking over the education in South Africa. Primary Schools and Secondary Schools are under the DBE, while Further Education Training (FET) colleges, Vocational Training and Tertiary Education are under the DHET.
In order to get a better understanding of how the teaching curriculum affects the education quality and ultimately the unemployment rate of a country, our group has researched on the education system, focusing on curriculum in South Africa and Ivory Coast.
In general, the curriculum for education in Ivory Coast is similar to the French curriculum, apart from the fact that the Ivory Coast curriculum focuses more on the French language since it is a foreign language to most students. Primary school is categorised into three two-year programs which are, namely the preparatory course during the first two years, the elementary course in the third and fourth years, and lastly the middle course, in the fifth and sixth year.
In South Africa, students start school with Grade 0 at the age of four, with the compulsory grades that are classified as the General Education and Training (GET) being Grades 1 to 9. Primary schools consists of Grade R and Grades 1-7. Children of age four to seven attend pre-school which is usually separated into two grades, Grade R and Grade 1. Grade R is known as Grade 0, for children of age four and turn five before 30th June, while Grade 1 is for children who turn six before 30th June. While parents do not have to necessarily enrol their children into preschool at the age of enrolment if they feel that they are unready for school, education from Grade 1 onwards is compulsory. (AngloInfo, n.d.) This shows that the child's readiness for education is taken into consideration, and they are given a choice to postpone their enrolment if they are not prepared.
Primary School in South Africa is up to Grade 6. In the first three years of Primary School, commonly known as the Junior Years, students are taught about subjects such as reading and writing, mathematics and a second language (AngloInfo, n.d.). In the next three years, or the Senior Years in Primary School, student take up more subjects such as history, geography, life skills, science, written and speaking skills in their second language, above those subjects they take in their Junior Years. The addition of subjects is to introduce to the students the fundamentals and instill basic knowledge and skills in them so that their foundation can be built to have a stable base for future learning. Meanwhile, in Ivory Coast, academic programs and subjects take place for a duration of 30 hours each week, with an emphasis on the French and Language Arts. This emphasis can be seen during the first four years of primary school where 17.5, 18.5, 15 and 15 hours respectively out of 30 hours of school each week have been placed on these two subjects. In last two years of school, French and Language Arts take up 11.5 out of 30 hours.
Similar to the primary school education in Ivory Coast, the secondary school education follows the French one as well, only with an alteration in content in the areas of Geography and History. Secondary education in Ivory Coast lasts for a total of seven years of school, which is further broken down into two cycles. The first four years, also commonly known as the first cycle, prepares students for a national exam , breevet d'études du premier cycle, BEPC. Students who pass can then enter the second cycle which takes place across a span of 3 years. This cycle leads to the national exam Baccalauréat, which is necessary to be admitted into the University or any other higher education. Similar to the two cycles secondary schools in Ivory Coast are broken into, secondary education in South Africa is also split into Junior and Senior phases across Grades 7 to 9 and Grades 10 to 12 respectively. The senior phase of secondary school provides the opportunity for students to gain more knowledge in various academic subjects in order to further their studies or prepare themselves for their career choices in the future. This gives students opportunities to work towards their ambitions and acquire skills required for them to confidently enter workforce in the future. (International qualifications, 2006). While education till Grade 9 is compulsory, some students decide to continue their senior phase in Secondary School to obtain the National Senior Certificate (NSC) upon graduation of Secondary School which is the equivalent of a high school leaving certificate and is also known as the matriculation or matric certificate (South Africa Embassy, n.d.).
While South African students are required to take up 7 subjects, with 4 compulsory subjects being English, Life Orientation, Mathematics and a second South African Language and 3 other subjects from 27 options ranging from Business Economics to Social Sciences from grade 10 (International qualifications, 2006)., upper secondary education in Ivory Coast takes place in two tracks, the “Classical” and the “Modern”, which allows students to specialise in Mathematics, Modern Languages, Economics or Sciences. The different tracks in the Second Cycle therefore allow students to focus on a future major, hence aiming to improve the productivity of the secondary education in general.
The teaching methods in Ivory Coast follow the traditional paper and pen way of learning, whereby students use their textbooks, which are generally in French. Teachers, however, are expected to modify the content in the textbook to fit in the syllabus that is taught. Unfortunately, due to low qualifications of the teaching staff in Ivory Coast, this factor is usually not done properly.
An example of the modification of the content in textbooks can be seen in the subjects of Science Studies and French Literature. The animals and plant species that can be found in Ivory Coast replace those found in Europe, while native literature writers are included in their French Literature subject.
A main factor causing the high rate of employment is the low standards of teacher qualities and training are low in Ivory Coast, which is a factor for the country’s poor education standard. Because of the lack of quality training as well as adequate qualifications of the teaching staff in Ivory Coast, the material students learn during the amount of time spent on education is insufficient to enter the working force when they graduate or after they stop school. This leads to an individuals unemployment. Besides this, the academic programs available in Ivory Coast, especially the education in the Secondary School is not crafted in a well planned and organised matter which is to the students benefits when they come out to work. This can be seen from the lack of emphasis on Mathematics and the Sciences which is very useful in the working force.
In order to solve unemployment, the standard of education has to be improved to meet Ivory Coast’s needs. Most of the employed people in Ivory Coast work in the agriculture field and there is a lack of people who are fit for high-skilled jobs. One way to solve unemployment is to have higher teacher qualifications and better training for teachers, to train students to have adequate skills for such jobs. The government hence needs to work with the educators and financial partners to keep students in the education system. This can be done in a few ways. Firstly, an effort has to be made to employ baccalaureate holders or even one with a higher form of education as a teacher to improve the supply and quality of the educators in the country. It will also be good if there is an upgrading and special training for the teachers as well, following after World Class education systems such as in Singapore, whereby teachers attend courses both when they are preparing to be educators, as well as when they are already teaching in schools. A constant upgrade and attending courses consistently ensure that educators are able to keep up to date with what is crucial in the outside working world, the needs of employers and to improve themselves. Only so can the educators provide students with quality skills and knowledge which is essential when they come out to work.
Furthermore, due to the conflict Ivory Coast has faced not too long ago, the public institutions, consisting the education system, has been divided and destroyed. While curriculum still exists as a major issue, the access and allocation of education all over the country was unequally distributed. The civil war has badly damaged the already struggling education system in Ivory Coast, preventing students and teachers from access to education. Therefore, our group suggests the development of formal education nationwide, making education to a higher level compulsory, emphasising and focusing on the development of promoting and investing in education for girls. Citizens in Ivory Coast, especially parents, have to be aware of the importance and benefits of education for girls.
In Ivory Coast, the government plays a key role in the planning of curriculum, coordinating and allocating resources in the Education Department. The organisation of national exams through the Education Ministry, Vocational Education Ministry and Higher Education Ministry, which are also under the government. On the other hand, since 2009, the Department of Basic Education, commonly known as DBE and the Department of Higher Education and Training, DHET, have been looking over the education in South Africa. Primary Schools and Secondary Schools are under the DBE, while Further Education Training (FET) colleges, Vocational Training and Tertiary Education are under the DHET.
In order to get a better understanding of how the teaching curriculum affects the education quality and ultimately the unemployment rate of a country, our group has researched on the education system, focusing on curriculum in South Africa and Ivory Coast.
In general, the curriculum for education in Ivory Coast is similar to the French curriculum, apart from the fact that the Ivory Coast curriculum focuses more on the French language since it is a foreign language to most students. Primary school is categorised into three two-year programs which are, namely the preparatory course during the first two years, the elementary course in the third and fourth years, and lastly the middle course, in the fifth and sixth year.
In South Africa, students start school with Grade 0 at the age of four, with the compulsory grades that are classified as the General Education and Training (GET) being Grades 1 to 9. Primary schools consists of Grade R and Grades 1-7. Children of age four to seven attend pre-school which is usually separated into two grades, Grade R and Grade 1. Grade R is known as Grade 0, for children of age four and turn five before 30th June, while Grade 1 is for children who turn six before 30th June. While parents do not have to necessarily enrol their children into preschool at the age of enrolment if they feel that they are unready for school, education from Grade 1 onwards is compulsory. (AngloInfo, n.d.) This shows that the child's readiness for education is taken into consideration, and they are given a choice to postpone their enrolment if they are not prepared.
Primary School in South Africa is up to Grade 6. In the first three years of Primary School, commonly known as the Junior Years, students are taught about subjects such as reading and writing, mathematics and a second language (AngloInfo, n.d.). In the next three years, or the Senior Years in Primary School, student take up more subjects such as history, geography, life skills, science, written and speaking skills in their second language, above those subjects they take in their Junior Years. The addition of subjects is to introduce to the students the fundamentals and instill basic knowledge and skills in them so that their foundation can be built to have a stable base for future learning. Meanwhile, in Ivory Coast, academic programs and subjects take place for a duration of 30 hours each week, with an emphasis on the French and Language Arts. This emphasis can be seen during the first four years of primary school where 17.5, 18.5, 15 and 15 hours respectively out of 30 hours of school each week have been placed on these two subjects. In last two years of school, French and Language Arts take up 11.5 out of 30 hours.
Similar to the primary school education in Ivory Coast, the secondary school education follows the French one as well, only with an alteration in content in the areas of Geography and History. Secondary education in Ivory Coast lasts for a total of seven years of school, which is further broken down into two cycles. The first four years, also commonly known as the first cycle, prepares students for a national exam , breevet d'études du premier cycle, BEPC. Students who pass can then enter the second cycle which takes place across a span of 3 years. This cycle leads to the national exam Baccalauréat, which is necessary to be admitted into the University or any other higher education. Similar to the two cycles secondary schools in Ivory Coast are broken into, secondary education in South Africa is also split into Junior and Senior phases across Grades 7 to 9 and Grades 10 to 12 respectively. The senior phase of secondary school provides the opportunity for students to gain more knowledge in various academic subjects in order to further their studies or prepare themselves for their career choices in the future. This gives students opportunities to work towards their ambitions and acquire skills required for them to confidently enter workforce in the future. (International qualifications, 2006). While education till Grade 9 is compulsory, some students decide to continue their senior phase in Secondary School to obtain the National Senior Certificate (NSC) upon graduation of Secondary School which is the equivalent of a high school leaving certificate and is also known as the matriculation or matric certificate (South Africa Embassy, n.d.).
While South African students are required to take up 7 subjects, with 4 compulsory subjects being English, Life Orientation, Mathematics and a second South African Language and 3 other subjects from 27 options ranging from Business Economics to Social Sciences from grade 10 (International qualifications, 2006)., upper secondary education in Ivory Coast takes place in two tracks, the “Classical” and the “Modern”, which allows students to specialise in Mathematics, Modern Languages, Economics or Sciences. The different tracks in the Second Cycle therefore allow students to focus on a future major, hence aiming to improve the productivity of the secondary education in general.
The teaching methods in Ivory Coast follow the traditional paper and pen way of learning, whereby students use their textbooks, which are generally in French. Teachers, however, are expected to modify the content in the textbook to fit in the syllabus that is taught. Unfortunately, due to low qualifications of the teaching staff in Ivory Coast, this factor is usually not done properly.
An example of the modification of the content in textbooks can be seen in the subjects of Science Studies and French Literature. The animals and plant species that can be found in Ivory Coast replace those found in Europe, while native literature writers are included in their French Literature subject.
A main factor causing the high rate of employment is the low standards of teacher qualities and training are low in Ivory Coast, which is a factor for the country’s poor education standard. Because of the lack of quality training as well as adequate qualifications of the teaching staff in Ivory Coast, the material students learn during the amount of time spent on education is insufficient to enter the working force when they graduate or after they stop school. This leads to an individuals unemployment. Besides this, the academic programs available in Ivory Coast, especially the education in the Secondary School is not crafted in a well planned and organised matter which is to the students benefits when they come out to work. This can be seen from the lack of emphasis on Mathematics and the Sciences which is very useful in the working force.
In order to solve unemployment, the standard of education has to be improved to meet Ivory Coast’s needs. Most of the employed people in Ivory Coast work in the agriculture field and there is a lack of people who are fit for high-skilled jobs. One way to solve unemployment is to have higher teacher qualifications and better training for teachers, to train students to have adequate skills for such jobs. The government hence needs to work with the educators and financial partners to keep students in the education system. This can be done in a few ways. Firstly, an effort has to be made to employ baccalaureate holders or even one with a higher form of education as a teacher to improve the supply and quality of the educators in the country. It will also be good if there is an upgrading and special training for the teachers as well, following after World Class education systems such as in Singapore, whereby teachers attend courses both when they are preparing to be educators, as well as when they are already teaching in schools. A constant upgrade and attending courses consistently ensure that educators are able to keep up to date with what is crucial in the outside working world, the needs of employers and to improve themselves. Only so can the educators provide students with quality skills and knowledge which is essential when they come out to work.
Furthermore, due to the conflict Ivory Coast has faced not too long ago, the public institutions, consisting the education system, has been divided and destroyed. While curriculum still exists as a major issue, the access and allocation of education all over the country was unequally distributed. The civil war has badly damaged the already struggling education system in Ivory Coast, preventing students and teachers from access to education. Therefore, our group suggests the development of formal education nationwide, making education to a higher level compulsory, emphasising and focusing on the development of promoting and investing in education for girls. Citizens in Ivory Coast, especially parents, have to be aware of the importance and benefits of education for girls.