Primary and Secondary Minister Professor Paul Mavhima revealed, during a press conference, that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is the basis upon which Zimbabwe developed competency-based curriculum.
The Minister said the latest curriculum for 2015-2022 is twenty-first century oriented.
“There are certain skills and competencies that we are developing there in recognition of the demands of the fourth industrial revolution,” Mavhima said.
“We are emphasising ICT, artificial intelligence, but we are also emphasising general skills like critical thinking and problem solving.”
The Minister said that Zimbabwe is getting quite a number successes with the competence-based curriculum especially in designing.
In explaining the successes, Mavhima gave an example of a learner from Prince Edward School who came out at number seven out of 950 thousand competitors in designing a futuristic car for Toyota.
Another learner came out second in the SADC South Africa competition in the designing area and became part of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s delegation to a regional summit in Tanzania.
Besides primary and secondary learners, tertiary students have also been getting awards with three students in May this year, walking away with the Most Creative Idea Award on a hackerthon that took place in Geneva.
Besides the fourth industrial revolution, the latest curriculum also includes the learning of foreign languages.
“We are making sure that our learners have leadership skills and communication skills,” Mavhima said. (sic)