Difference between Old and New Lower Secondary Curriculum.

The two curriculums are widely different in that the experience and tools of work from the old one were rendered obsolete.

Schools have to reflect on the following differences when comparing the new curriculum to the old one.

Old curriculum	New curriculum
A teacher leads the class as a group.	A teacher is also an instructor.
One teacher could teach thousands of students.	​Effective when a teacher is handling a small class.
More time for teaching classes to complete the syllabus.	More time for student self-study and research.
Student revision notes are provided by teachers.	​Students make their own revision notes.
Exams-based assessment about syllabus so far covered.	Continuous assessment topic per topic completed.
Marks driven curriculum - everything was about marks.	Competency-based judgement and applicable skills
Single page report card.	Multiple pages report - describing the mastering of competencies and generic skills expressed in the process of covering topics.
Reporting was done once at end of the term.	​Reporting is a work in progress during the process of covering a topic and is completed once a topic is finished.
Students were graded collectively and compared based on marks.	Students are not graded for comparison and are individually assessed.
A student could fail.	​All students pass in their respective capacities.
Internal assessment is loosely regulated.	Internal assessment is regulated and coursework is submitted to UNEB.
NCDC hardly guided schools on curriculum operation.	NCDC issues guidelines and instructs on curriculum operation.
​Every effort was on passing the UNEB exams.	Every effort is to impart practical skills applicable to the job environment.
The best students were the best ones at memorizing.	The best students are the best ones at mastering and applying skills.
Student opinions were hardly welcomed.	Student opinions are at the centre of the curriculum.
Students could pass when not regularly attending lessons.	Students fail if they don’t regularly attend classes.
Keeping student lesson attendance records could be downplayed.	Keeping student attendance records is very important.
​Co-curricular and extra-curricular activities were not certified.	​Co-curricular and extra-curricular activities are certified and highly encouraged.
Relatively affordable to implement.	​Relatively expensive to implement.
It could be conducted without using ICT tools.	It can only be effectively conducted with the help of advanced ICT tools especially because of continuous record taking and reporting by every staff member.

Conclusion

It can be seen that the lower secondary curriculum was overhauled and completely changed. This implies that any experience in managing the old curriculum is no longer applicable. This also means that we are supposed to break with the past and start over again in school systems of management, teaching, learning and reporting to school stakeholders, especially parents and guardians.