Implementation of the new curriculum

Date: 2024-12-28 | News

The Ministry of Education has announced the delay in opening of classes for selected grades from Monday 13th January to Monday, 10th February 2025.

The delay is to allow the Ministry of Education and partners, have enough time to print and distribute teaching and learning materials, and orient teachers of the affected levels, for smooth implementation of the 2023 Zambia Education Curriculum.

Education Minister, Hon. Douglas Syakalima, has said the affected grades are: Early Childhood Education – ECE (Levels), Primary Education (Grade 1) and Secondary Education (Form 1).

The rest of the grades that include Grade 10 learners will open on Monday 13th January 2025. 

And Hon. Syakalima has reiterated that the 2023 Zambia Education Curriculum will be implemented in a phased approach manner.

Implementation of the 2023 Zambia Education Curriculum will start in 2025 with the Early Childhood Education – ECE (Level 1), Primary Education (Grade 1) and Secondary Education (Form 1)

In 2026, the 2023 Zambia Education Curriculum will be implemented at Grade 4 in order for the Grade 4 learners of 2026 to write the Primary School Leaving Examination in Grade 6, in the year 2028 together with the Grades 7 learners. .

This will mean that the year the Grade 6 and 7 learners write together, will be the same year the Form 4 and Grade 12 learners will also write the School Certificate Examination together. 

This is necessary for purposes of ensuring that in 2029, there will be enough space to accommodate two cohorts of Primary School Leavers in Form 1 at Secondary School level; 

With the foregoing, the current examination system at Primary and Secondary School levels will run in 2025.

In 2026, there will be no Grade 9 examination because the Form 1 learners of 2025 will be in Form 2, following the 2023 Zambia Education Curriculum. 

The last examinations on the 2013 Zambia Education Curriculum at Primary and School Certificate Levels will be in 2028, when the Grade 6 and Grade 7 at Primary, and the Form 4 and Grade 12 Learners at Secondary School levels, will write examinations in the same year.

Further, the Ministry of Education will implement the Advanced Level Education (A-Levels) at Form 5 in 2026, to allow the first local A-Level examination to take place in 2027, after two years of instruction. 

The Ministry will, therefore use 2025 to develop the necessary teaching and learning materials for A-Level Education;

This therefore means the last Grade 9 examination will be in 2025.