Five Academic Streams to Replace Commercial, Arts & Science Streams

By Desmond Isaac Macauley
The Minister of Information and Civic Education Chernor Bah has informed that a new curriculum with five (5) academic streams will be introduced which will replace the current streams: Commercial, Arts and Science.
He made this announcement during the weekly government press briefing noting that the five (5) new streams will be: Science and Technology, Language and Literature, Social and Cultural Studies, Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship, and Mathematics and Numeracy.
According to the minister, the goal of this new system is to create flexibility and provide students with a wider range of choices and that the curriculum is designed to prepare learners for the evolving job market and address national priorities while focusing on 21st century skills and learning needs.
The new curriculum introduces over 70 subjects aimed at building a society that meets both national and global standards. Between 2026 and 2027, students will be examined under both the old and new systems, with 20 subjects coming from the new curriculum and 17 from the old curriculum.
Subjects in the new curriculum include English, French, Geography, Business Accounting, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and Principles of Economics, among others. Meanwhile, some old curriculum subjects such as Islamic Studies, Literature, Building Construction, and Woodwork will continue for the transition period. By 2028, all students sitting for the WASSCE will be examined exclusively under the new curriculum.