Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary Joel Kamoko has enlightened pupils at Mtendere Primary school in Lusaka on the changes to the school curriculum. 

Mr Kamoko who addressed a Grade seven class, implored them to work hard to get into Grade Eight explaining that there will be no automatic progression to the next grade.

He advised the pupils that those who will not make it to grade eight, will have to repeat Grade seven,further stating that the Education Curriculum was revised and approved and will include skills development subjects.

“Some of you in future might not make it to be in formal employment but with skills acquired, you will be able to sustain yourselves,” he said.

He pleaded with the pupils to take school seriously and have a positive impact on society. 

“We plead with you to take school seriously. Do not be junkies, do not smoke nor take alcohol. Shun all bad behaviour and pay attention to teachers instructions,” he said.

He also advised the pupils to avoid vandalizing school property by guarding it jealousy and also seized the opportunity to encourage teachers to work hard and remain relevant to today’s children.

“Let us up our game as teachers to be able to be relevant to today’s children. If you must compete in the world, you must be IT friendly,” he said.

 He challenged the teachers to think of the new curriculum and the opportunities it stands to offer to the pupils.

“When you give children hands-on experience, then you are giving them an opportunity to dream and realise their dream. We want to talk about programming, coding, Artificial Intelligence and robotics because the future lies in computers. These machines will not be useful if you do not up your game,” he said