Over the past eight months, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology (MoECST) has been collaborating with education stakeholders to develop the National Curriculum Framework that will guide our transition to competency-based education in Belize. The framework was officially launched July 28, 2022.
The ministry has assembled a team of competent and experienced educators and professionals to produce the new competency-based curriculum for pre-schools and primary schools that will be based on the new National Curriculum Framework. In sequence will be the development of competency-based unit plans and assessments, utilising authentic student-centred pedagogies such as inquiry, discovery, cooperative, experiential, problem- and project-based learning. The upcoming 2022-2023 school year will serve as a transition and pilot year for all pre-schools and primary schools, as well as for the high schools that decide to participate. It will also serve as an important time to continue efforts at “catching up” for students who have fallen behind due to the pandemic. All pre-schools, primary schools, and secondary schools should be following the new National Curriculum Framework by the 2023-2024 school year.
The unit plans and assessments for pre-schools and primary schools will be available to all schools via the Ministry’s virtual platform, www.501academy.edu.bz as per the schedule below. The unit plans and assessments will guide teachers and principals to develop their own lesson plans for this transition year. During the 2023-2024 academic year, lesson plans will be available for teachers and principals on the virtual platform. Unit plans and assessments for pre-schools and primary schools will be available incrementally on the ministry’s virtual platform as follows:
August 31, 2022 Unit Plans and Assessments for September and October 2022
October 31, 2022 Unit Plans and Assessments for November and December 2022
December 31, 2022 Unit Plans and Assessments for January and February 2023
February 28, 2023 Unit Plans and Assessments for March and April 2023
April 30, 2023 Unit Plans and Assessments for May and June 2023
The ministry will work closely with high schools that have an interest in commencing implementation of the National Curriculum Framework during the 2022-2023 school year. All high schools that would like to do so are asked to contact the Chief Education Officer at [email protected] by July 31, 2022.
In addition, in August 2022, the Teacher Learning Institute (TLI) will be offering professional development courses that will be focused on training teachers on competency-based education for pre-schools and primary schools. The courses will cover the National Curriculum Framework, an introduction to competency-based education and how to use the unit plans and assessments to develop lesson plans. There will be ongoing training throughout the 2022-2023 academic year on these and related topics. The ministry will be partnering with Pathlight International to deliver similar courses for high schools via the TLI.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Science, and Technology remains committed to the objective of reforming the national curriculum so that students can gain the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes needed for personal and national development. The ministry is always appreciative of the efforts of the extended education community, as together we continue to make education work for Belize.
Present at today’s launch of the NCF were Hon. John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize; Ambassador Stuart Leslie, Cabinet Secretary and Chief of Staff; Hon. Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Technology; Hon. Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Minister of State, MoECST; H.E. David Kwan-Chou Chien, Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to Belize; H.E. María Caridad Balaguer Labrada, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to Belize; Senator Hon. Elena Smith; Mrs. Dian Maheia, Chief Executive Officer, MoECST; and Ms. Yolanda Gongora, Chief Education Officer.
The National Curriculum Framework document can be accessed at www.moecst.gov.bz/media/publications
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