Summary
- The Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) and the Eswatini Principals Association (EPA) have slammed the Ministry of Education for a rushed curriculum rollout, warning that a lack of training and resources is setting schools up for failure. 
- Principals report that confusion over the new Competency-Based Education (CBE) framework has forced many schools to revert to the old syllabus just to keep Grade 8 learners occupied. 
- Stakeholders are calling for urgent intervention, citing that promised workshops never occurred and digital tools like the eLearning passport are unusable due to poor internet connectivity

The Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) has echoed growing concerns over the rollout of the new curriculum, warning that educators are being set up for failure due to inadequate preparation and limited resources.

SNAT Secretary General Lot Vilakati said teachers could not be expected to effectively implement the new syllabus without proper training, teaching materials and structured support.

He stressed that the current situation had left many educators struggling to deliver meaningful lessons.

“We are not doing anything meaningful right now. Even if we had the books, it would still be difficult without proper training. Short workshops will not work as they only confuse teachers. The ministry should have planned this properly before introducing the new syllabus,” he said.

Education stakeholders argued that the challenges reflect deeper systemic weaknesses within the sector, particularly in communication, planning and resource allocation. They said the rushed implementation had left both teachers and learners disadvantaged, undermining the goals of the curriculum reform.

“Teachers need time to fully understand the new syllabus before they can start teaching. How can one be able to transfer knowledge to the pupils without fully understanding the new syllabus? Here we are just setting the pupils for failure,” said Vilakati.

STRANDED FORM 1s: Schools turn to old syllabus

Several schools across the country have been forced to rely on the outdated syllabus to keep learners occupied as confusion, inadequate preparation and the lack of competency-based education (CBE) training continue to delay the rollout of the new Grade 8 curriculum.

The Eswatini Principals Association (EPA) has raised concerns over the situation, warning that learners are already losing valuable instructional time, while teachers struggle to implement reforms they were not adequately prepared for.

EPA said the uncertainty had created uneven learning experiences across schools; barely a week into the academic year.

EPA President Armstrong Dlamini said the situation on the ground was troubling with some schools resorting to revising old material simply to maintain routine, while others had not commenced formal learning at all.

RELATED | Grade 8 learners left stranded

“Our frustration as an association is that no one is addressing these concerns. Schools that are using the old syllabus are merely keeping learners busy. In some cases, there is no meaningful learning taking place, which defeats the purpose of schooling,” he said.

The problem emerged shortly after the opening of schools, with reports indicating that many Grade 8 learners were yet to begin lessons under the new CBE framework.

This year’s Grade 8 cohort is the first expected to transition to the new curriculum as the ministry of education and training begins implementing the reforms at high school level. However, principals argued that the foundation for a smooth transition was never properly laid.

Dlamini said schools were promised comprehensive training for principals, deputy principals and senior teachers before the start of the academic year, a commitment that has not been honoured.

“We were assured that training and support structures will be in place before schools opened, but that never happened. Teachers are now expected to implement a curriculum they do not fully understand and that is unfair to both educators and learners.”

He further noted that the ministry had introduced an eLearning passport intended to support the new curriculum, but this too had proven impractical for some schools.

“We were told the eLearning passport could be accessed online, yet some schools do not even have reliable internet connectivity,” Dlamini added. The association has called on the ministry of education and training to urgently intervene, provide proper training and resources, and clarify implementation guidelines to prevent further disruption to learners’ education.

Facts on the Topic
- The Framework: The new curriculum is based on Competency-Based Education (CBE). Unlike traditional rote learning, CBE focuses on students demonstrating that they have mastered specific skills (competencies) before moving on to the next level.
- Digital Divide: While the Ministry introduced an "eLearning passport" to modernize the curriculum, Eswatini faces significant disparities in internet access between urban and rural schools, making digital-only resources difficult to implement universally.
- Global Context: Many countries in the SADC region are shifting toward Competency-Based Education to align with 21st-century skills, but implementation often faces the exact hurdles Eswatini is seeing now: lack of teacher training and infrastructure.