ZNUT in Eastern province happy with new curriculum.

Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) in Eastern province has praised government for revising the education curriculum.

ZNUT Provincial Chairperson Alakwisa Phiri disclosed that Zambia had for a long time adopted a bad system of medium of instruction in schools through using English which is a foreign language.

Speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Chipata today, Mr. Phiri said the practice had more disadvantages to the Zambian culture than advantages.

He cited loss of culture, high illiteracy levels and unemployment among other problems as being caused by the use of English as a medium of instruction in Schools at all levels.

Mr. Phiri has since appealed to teachers in the province to embrace the new curriculum and help government to successfully implement it for the benefit of pupils.

He said there is need for teachers to embrace the change and identify gaps that need to be addressed within the implementation period.

He further called on government to accommodate divergent views from stakeholders especially from colleges of education as they have a major role to play in helping teachers have a clear understanding of the subject.

Meanwhile, Mr. Phiri has attributed the poor grade nine results recorded in the province due to lack of qualified staff in basic schools.

He explained that most teachers teaching grade eights and nines were not qualified enough to handle the upper grades as they are trained to handle lower grades.

Mr. Phiri has since congratulated teachers in the province for recording a malpractice free examination in 2013.