Introduction
The National Council for Technical Education (NACTE) is a statutory body established by Act of Parliament, Cap. 129 to oversee and coordinate provision of technical education and training provided by non-university tertiary institutions.
Section 11 of the Act of Parliament empowers the Council to approve curricula, examinations, and awards for autonomous non-University technical institutions.
Effective regulation and coordination of technical education and training in the country mandated to The National Council for Technical Education (NACTE) cannot be achieved if curricula for institutions do not address the needs of the society. The reason is that curriculum plays a central role towards production of skilled, competent and knowledgeable citizens to meet the demands of the country’s social and economic development. A curriculum is ‘a well planned and structured document showing what a learner (student) is expected to learn and achieve in terms of skills, knowledge and understanding and describes all aspects of teaching and learning such as learning strategies, assessment methods and the intended outcomes from learning’. It is through curriculum that:
- Purpose and values of learning can be realized.
- Curriculum contents can be identified to support attainment of desired competencies;
- Learners are analyzed against required competencies at a given level of training
- Activities, methods and media for teaching and learning are decided; and
- Means of assessment are provided in order to measure effectiveness of educational delivery.
NACTE has defined and established a range of National Technical AWARDS (NTA) to be conferred to various fields of technical education and training. These awards are competence base and designed to testify that the holders possess the requisite skills and knowledge necessary to flexibly apply competences in the relevant occupational sectors.
The enabling tasks and environment for one to realize the outcomes specified for a particular NTA level are provided through Competence Based Education and Training (CBET) curriculum. Hence, every technical education and training institution adopting the NTA system must have Competence/outcomes based curriculum in place.
Curriculum development process
To develop a curriculum that will provide required competences, it requires an institution or competent authority to pass through a series of stages which are;
- Curriculum planning;
- Conducting situation analysis;
- Formulating learning outcomes, assessment criteria, teaching and learning strategies for achieving the curriculum goals and objectives;
- Modularization and semesterization of curriculum; and
- Approval and validation of curricula;
Curriculum can be developed at either National or Institutional level. In either case, the procedure is the same except that apart from assisting institutions in curriculum development process, NACTE is also mandated to validate curricula that have been developed or revised by technical institutions themselves or through any other responsible organ.
Competence-Based Education (CBET)
Scholars have identified four key points that make Competence/Outcome-based education work:
- Clear identification of what a student must learn;
- Assessment of progress basing on students’ demonstrable Achievement;
- Use of multiple instructional and assessment strategies in order to meet the needs of each student; and
- Providing adequate time and assistance that each learner can reach his/her maximum potential.
For more information about Competence Based Curriculum Development, please click the link below to download