Extended Programme between concerns and relief

The Extended Program, previously known as the Pre-Vocational stream, is meant for pupils who have not attained the NQF Level 1 at the Primary School Achievement Certificate (PSAC). Introduced this year, the 4-year Extended Programme has, however, given rise to criticism, as the pupils are bound to follow the same curriculum and syllabus as mainstream ones. News on Sunday delves into the matter.

The main goal of the education reform, as stated by the Ministry of Education, is that no child is left behind. In this line, the Nine-Year Continuous Basic Education (NYCBE) strategy has incorporated a four-year Extended Programme, which is a programme meant for pupils who have not obtained the required grades at PSAC assessment. These pupils not only endure academic difficulties but they also cope with issues such as social problems, lack of motivation, and health problems, among others.

All reforms which have been done have not taken into consideration the views of the first stakeholders of education, the students. Everyone is consulted at least once, be it the union, educators, managers, rectors, other partners, etc… but not the students and it should have started with them.

Through this programme, pupils join the Foundation Year where they are given opportunities to develop proficiency in basic knowledge and acquire social and life skills. As stipulated by the Ministry of Education, the pupils will benefit from a differentiated pedagogy, appropriate learning materials, adapted assessment so as to achieve the agreed learning objectives. A facilitator will assist the students to acquire life and scholastic skills. They will also benefit from additional support programmes, namely the health and well-being screening and the Afterschool programme.

Same syllabus

However, voices have been raised against the fact that the extended programme pupils will follow the same syllabus as their mainstream counterparts. In addition, there are more than one extended class in mainstream schools and teachers have not been trained to work with those students. For Brian Pitchen, Ag. Senior Educator at Saint Mary’s College West, the shift from prevocational stream to the Extended Programme is just a change of name.

“The profile of the students is the same.  Giving four years instead of three years to work with those types of pupils is good but there are certain realities that should be considered, namely the academic level of students which is relatively low, they have mostly obtained between 22-24 units, their pace of understanding things and the program proposed.”

He trusts that the Foundation Year is acceptable but states that afterwards, the students have to be prepared for the Grade 9 (Form 3) national exams. “The National Certificate in Education (NCE) is unattainable for most of them. I think the Ministry should review this part and design another evaluation for them.” He says that we also have to bear in mind that there are schools which are situated in regions where there are high percentage of failures and therefore, a greater demand for extended stream.

“This aspect has not really been taken into consideration by the Ministry and I think they should review for 2019, as the policy decision is one extended per college. Colleges which can take more than one extended stream should be given the possibility to do so, as we are talking also about a child-centred approach, thus no child left behind. Furthermore, parents should be allowed to choose a school in order to avoid frustration and transfer demand.”

We have gone through a series of courses in November 2017, where we got glimpses of the program. But still, it needs fine tuning before its operation.

Fine tuning needed

Is the extended programme thus fully adapted to those pupils? The Senior Educator trusts that doing the same syllabus as the mainstream, even if the curriculum is differentiated, is a bit farfetched and not adapted. “Everything should have been different, from the curriculum and syllabus, through evaluation and exams to books. Most of the students have literacy problems and at Year 1, these skills need to be implemented every day and now, we have a facilitator who will lend a hand to both teachers and students,” utters Brian Pitchen.

He states that those in the education system are still waiting to see the bulk of the programme of the adapted curriculum/differentiated curriculum, as announced by the Ministry of Education.  “We have gone through a series of courses in November 2017, where we got glimpses of the program. But still, it needs fine tuning before its operation.” He adds that they are also waiting to have the details about the Afterschool programme.

“Another aspect that the Ministry has talked about is the health and well being screening. When and how will it be set up? Still some points to be clarified about the social and emotional wellbeing which has to be set up, when and how.  We have no further news about the referral to specialised services, which also has to be put in place and how it will operate,” he queries.

Practical subjects

Regarding the issue that pupils from the extended programme have to follow the same program as the mainstream students, Brian Pitchen says that the Ministry should have looked more after literacy and numeracy during the 1st year of the extended stream with sports and practical subjects like agriculture. “Life experience/exchanges should have been introduced and done each month so that students interact with students of other schools.

Then gradually other subjects are introduced year by year. We must not forget that in the mainstream Grade 7, the students study a variety of subjects, mainly academic ones which, in my opinion, is not suited to the extended stream. We must not forget that they have experienced difficulties during their time in the primary sector and the focus should be to solve those problems first and later look into areas of learning that interest them.”

He further argues whether we have ever inquired about students’ areas of interest. “All reforms which have been done have not taken into consideration the views of the first stakeholders of education, the students. Everyone is consulted at least once, be it the union, educators, managers, rectors, other partners, etc… but not the students and it should have started with them,” he states.

What about the educators and their training for extended classes? “All the prevocational educators are experienced and trained and they have been working since 2001 and some even before that with difficult learners. So they already know how to tackle such students.  They have also obtained in-service training. So I think that we have a dedicated pool of professional educators who can cater for the needs of extended students,” explains Brian Pitchen.

Regarding mainstream teachers, who have only worked with students who have already a level of understanding and are literate and numerate, he trusts that it will perhaps be difficult for them “to adapt to the pace of the extended students and furthermore they will have to completely review their methods of teaching and delivery if they are to work with the extended stream during four years. Yet they will have to follow adapted training to cope with the demands of the extended stream.”

The Senior Educator strongly believes that the extended stream should be a department in the school, similar to the prevocational department with a pool of educators who will run, monitor and follow up the evolution of the students. “We have to also keep in mind that not all educators are capable of working in this stream and some mainstream educators have expressed their apprehension because they have not been trained and formed accordingly. Actually, the extended stream is not under the responsibility of the prevocational HOD. I think this policy should be reviewed in the future so that we have better control,” he says.

 Dr. Anjali Bungaleea:“The extended education programme ought to be partially implemented as from Grade 5”

The psychologist believes that the extended programme should be implemented before Grade 6. “Having practised as a psychologist for the past ten years, though the initiatives are highly justified in terms of revised curriculum, I firmly believe that the extended education programme ought to be partially implemented as from Grade 5 following 1st part-national examinations. The aim of the extended education programme is to reduce learning difficulties and deficits, which is geared to start as from Grade 10.  It is believed that Grade 5 can be measured as ground for a first assessment to identify and record individual potentials, thus a proactive measure. This is to allow measurable coaching at academic, social and psychological levels and ensure smooth development of a child’s emotional intelligence,” she says.

Dr. Anjali Bungaleea also trusts that psychological support should be equally provided to these pupils from an early stage. “A class teacher is apt to identify signs of progression and regression since formative years itself, document child’s responses and voice out any discrepancies in performance, guided by assigned psychologists in respective educational institutions. Hence, since a child’s capacity can be partially unveiled as from Grade 5, it would be wise to introduce psychological coaching at an earlier stage to ensure essentials.”

She further states that the extended programme is definitely well drafted and reviewed but everyone will not respond to the amendments in the same way. “What   should be essential is that particular attention ought to be given to the coaches selected, trained and assigned to ensure credibility in service delivery since students targeted are expected to still acquire firm foundations for higher education, be it academic or vocational,” she states.

The psychologist points out that several academic, emotional, and psychological issues are expected. “There are vast differences between the syllabus of the PSAC and that of NCE. For the purpose of record and further monitoring and evaluation, assigned teachers and coaches must have a foundation notion in psychology, to identify possible academic, social, emotional or psychological challenges at an earlier stage to avoid emotional damages of being black-flagged, which might cause resistance to suggestions at a mature age. Boundaries have to be set with well-defined objectives in view to put emphasis on positive reinforcement by introducing personality development sessions that may motivate them to go beyond estimated limits.”

She trusts that the NCE is well designed but much emphasis is needed to gear elements of psychological support. “This can be easily achieved by tracking individual progress at an earlier stage to ensure that the confidence level of students are maintained and reinforced.  We must be cautious about the subconscious that may manifest on children’s behaviour.

The role of a teacher is not altogether apt in academic knowledge sharing with an expectation to be consistent as a personality coach as well.  Hence the importance of assigning an individual psychologist in educational streaming is crucial to ensure the smooth development of a child’s emotional intelligence alongside,” utters Anjali Bungaleea.

Faizal Jeeroburkhan : “The implementation phase is likely to be quite challenging”

The pedagogue trusts that the extended programme appears commendable on paper but that it is quite challenging in implementation. “That is given the haste with which the programme was elaborated coupled with the dearth of vision, consultation, research, and planning. The other element that will certainly hinder the implementation of the programme is the inappropriateness in the upgrading of the teachers concerned essentially with regards to their pedagogical competence and their professional values and attitudes. Such upgrading cannot be achieved in a few weeks in large cohorts within the walls of a lecture room. It warrants long and assiduous workshop type training sessions in small groups based on hands-on classroom experience followed by regular monitoring and assessment. The other flaws in the programme include the lack of a relevant curriculum and the proper infrastructural set up and logistics that should go along with it,” he says.

The extended programme of the PSAC reform has helped to do away with the inefficient Prevoc programme; there are no “failures,” as it will retain the low achievers within the mainstream up to Grade 10, explains Faizal Jeeroburkhan. However, he believes that “theoretically, the curriculum should have adopted a non-academic bias with emphasis on technical and vocational education; it should also provide psychological support to students on an individual basis along with a low student-teacher ratio.”

Unfortunately, he adds, these good intentions will hardly be translated in practice for the reasons mentioned. “The absence of an appropriate curriculum, an elaborate blueprint/road map for its implementation, a valid teacher training programme, a proper assessment strategy and the relevant infrastructures and logistics are the main weaknesses of the programme.”

He trusts that the low achievers should be handled differently from those of the mainstream. “The curriculum should have a vocational bias based on practical (learning by doing) disciplines such as agriculture, aquaculture, wood and metal work, music, arts, etc. depending on the hidden talents that many of these students possess. It should adopt appropriate pedagogical approaches as well as relevant assessment strategies and certification.”

He states that one of the major problems linked with the extended classes is the lack of committed, motivated and properly trained teachers. “Teachers should be specially selected and trained to improve their practical teaching competences and their human and professional values with a high dose of patriotism. The traditional training courses and the “quick fix” upgrading courses do not prepare teachers for the task at hand.

The mainstream curriculum with the “business as usual” teaching/learning approaches meant for the elites will certainly fail to yield the expected outcomes.” Another major problem is the high student-teacher ratio. “When dealing with students with learning difficulties, the classes should not exceed 20 students,” he adds.