Zimbabwe may soon become the first African nation to aggressively teach and write exams on Music and Creative Arts if the government approves a framework proposal submitted by the Arts and Recreation Ministry.
A detailed curriculum framework for primary and secondary schools presented by Kirsty Coventry, the current Minister for Youth, Sports, Arts and Recreation and a former Olympic gold-winning swimmer, proposed the introduction of Visual and Performing Arts, Theatre Arts, Dance, Music and Film Production as part of the subjects for the ‘O’ Level and ‘A’ Level learning and examination process.
The move is likely to be welcomed by Zimbabwe’s first government since Robert Mugabe’s nearly four decade-long tumultuous rule.
The government is desperate to introduce new policies, especially in education, in its quest to improve the human resource base and create more jobs by empowering the youth to boost an economy in dire need of relief.
Although countries such as Kenya, South Africa and Zambia have been credited with including music as a learnable subject at the High School level, the teaching and learning of the subject does not reflect the demands of the curriculum.
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