Syllabus for Agriculture Subject for Advanced Level Secondary Education in Tanzania.
Background information
This revised Agriculture syllabus for form V — VI replaces the 1984 edition-The revision process has observed the change in paradigm from that of content based to a competence based curriculum. The teaching and learning processes using this revised syllabus should be student centred and activity oriented, thereby enhancing meaningful learning.
The specific objectives, teaching and learning strategies have been designed to give students more opportunity to acquire skills, strengthen their knowledge and change in attitude. They also give the students the opportunity to broaden their scope for future career development including self employment.
Subject description
Agriculture is broad and has many areas of interest. In the further education and training band, this subject covers a broad spectrum of agricultural issues, many of which develop into specialized programmes in the higher education band.
This syllabus embraces five main themes, namely:
- Agricultural Engineering and Land Planning
- Livestock Science and Production
- Crop Science and Production
- Agricultural Economics
- Soil Science
The knowledge, skills, attitudes and values acquired in this subject enables learners to understand the production and processing of food and fibre, and the caring for crops and animals. It also enables them to develop social and personal skills in the management of agriculture, so as to ensure the creation Of the correct environment for sustainable agriculture.
The rationale for the review of A-Level Agriculture syllabus The revised A-Level Agriculture syllabus has incorporated changes in order to address the current economic, environmental and technological challenges. Apart from continuing to provide the students with a sound foundation for specialized training, the syllabus wishes to prepare the important functions as follows:
- Providing appropriate foundation of the skills to be acquired at the tertiary level in the country and outside the country.
- Enabling students to develop a positive attitude towards Agriculture and its role in enhancing self employment.
- Broadening the understanding of new developments in the field of agriculture bearing in mind new technological advancements e.g. genetically modified organisms and organic farming.
- Enabling the students to face the challenges of cross cutting issues in force and equip them with important strategies to mitigate, cope and solve the associated problems.
- Trimming the previous syllabus so that students get a better opportunity to acquire relevant knowledge, skills and practical experiences.