[

Nat
ional
Curr
icul
um f
orSeni
orSecondar
ySchool
s
Sel
ecti
onofStr
eams&Subjects

GUI
DELI
NESFORSCHOOLS

Background&I ntroducti
on:
Thenew nat ionalcur r
icul
um forseniorsecondar yschoolsi nSierr
aLeonecomesi nto
operati
oni nSept ember2023.I ti
smoder n,tr
ansformative,well
-st
ruct
ured,andof f
ers
much gr eaterchoi ce t olearner
si nl ine wi t
ht hei
ri nter
ests,compet enci
es,and
aspi
rations.Italsoenabl esschoolst ostriveforexcell
ence,basedont hei
rstrengt
hs,
capaciti
es,andpr efer
ences.Thegui del
inesi nthispapergi veschoolsagr aspoft he
curr
iculum,theopt i
onsandr ulesforselectingwhatt ooffer,andsensiblegroundsfor
choosingstreamsandsubj ectsthatarefeasibleforschoolstooffer.

Thecur ri
culum isstruct
uredint
o5Speci ali
stStr
eamst hatref
lectnati
onalpriorit
ies,21st
Centurycompet enci
es,diver
seint
erests/aspi
rat
ionsoflearners,andknowl edget heory
(epi
stemol ogy).Thesef i
vecompr ehensiveanddili
gentl
yconst ruct
edstreamsr eplace
the t
hr ee str
eamst hatnow existi n seni
orsecondar yschool s.Each new st r
eam
repr
esent samoder nandv al
idcat
egoryofhumanknowl edge(formsofknowl edge)that
i
suni versal
.

Eachst ream has3set sofsubjectsthatr efl

ectitsuniquef orm ofknowl edge&ski l
l
s.
CoreSubj ect sdefi
net heessenceoft hest ream andwhati tmeanst obeaspeci ali
stin
thi
sf orm ofknowl edge.Appl i
edSubjectsuseast r
eam’ sf orm ofknowl edget omeet
specialrequirement sinlearningortoaddr esspr act
icalpr oblemsinsoci ety.Everyday
Subjectsof fernon- speci
ali
stsat asteoft hef orm ofknowl edgeinast ream t omeet
personal i
nterestorcont r
ibutetogeneralenl i
ghtenment .Thist ypeofform andst r
ucture
hasgener atedov er76subj ects(seeAnnex )topr ov i
deschool sandl earner
swi th
greaterchoicebasedoni nterest
s,compet encies,capacities,andpreferences.

For
m &St
ruct
ureoft
heNewSeni
orSecondar
yCur
ri
cul
um
SSS

3YEARSOFPOST-
BASI
CEDUCATION(GENERAL/
ACADEMI C)
SSS1 SSS2 SSS3
SENI
ORSECONDARYSCHOOLINGOFFERSUPTOFIVE(5)SPECIALI
ST
STREAMS

Sci
ences Languages Mathemat i
cs Social Economi cs,
& & & & Businessand
Technologi
es Liter
atur
es Numer acy Cul
turalStudi
es Ent
repreneurshi
p
St
ream Str
eam Stream Stream Str
eam
SUBJECTS

3SETSOFSUBJECTSAREGENERATEDFOREACHSPECI
ALI
STSTREAM

CORE APPLI
ED EVERYDAY
SUBJECTS SUBJECTS SUBJECTS

Page1of1
National-
Lev elSpecif
icati
onsonSel ecti
ngSt r
eamsandSubj ects:
Basedont hemenuofst r
eamsandsubj ect
s,specif
icat
ionsar eout l
inedf orequity
,
eff
iciency,andef fecti
venessi nimpl ementati
onoft henew cur riculum.I nfair
nesst o
l
earner sandst akeholder
s,school sshoul dconcent
rateont hosest reamsandsubj ects
forwhi chtheycanpr ovi
dequal it
ylearning.School
sshouldst r
iveforexcel l
enceint he
str
eamsandsubj ectsthatt heyoffer,r
atherthantr
yingtoof fertoomanyst reamsand
subjectswi thmedi ocrer esult
s.Ov erti
meschool smayexpandont hest reamsand
subjectst hattheyof fer,pr ov
idedt heyhav eimprovedt heircapaci tyto of f
ersuch
additi
onal opti
ons.

Onsel
ect
ionofst
reams:speci
fi
cat
ionsmandat
eschool
stoof
feratl
east3st
reamsf
or
whi
chtheycandeli
verquali
tyl
earni
ngbasedonstaf
fi
ng,f
acil
i
ties,
equi
pment,
andother
r
esour
ces.School
smayof fermorethan3str
eamsonlyi
ftheyhavethepr
ovencapaci
ty
t
odeli
verqual
it
ylear
ninginall
thestr
eamstheychooset
ooffer.

Nat
ional
-Level
Specifi
cati
onsforSel
ecti
ngStreams
Everyapprovedseniorsecondaryschooli
nSi err
aLeone
mustof f
eratleast3St r
eamsdr awnf r
om t
hemenuof5
str
eamst hatar
eoutl
inedforthenewSSScurri
culum.

Al
lApproved Aseniorsecondar
yschoolmayof f
ermor ethan3st r
eams
Seni
orSecondary (uptothemaximum of5streams),onl
yifithastheproven
capaci
tyandmeetsthecri
teriaof
fi
cial
lysetforschoolsto
School
sinSierr
a
off
ereachstream.
Leone
Decisi
onsonhow manyst reams(andwhi chstr
eams)a
schoolcanof f
er,mustbebasedoncapabi li
tycr
iteri
aof :
staf
f( number s & quali
ficati
ons)
, adequate facil
it
ies,
appropri
ateequi
pment/t
ools, t
eachi
ng&learni
ngmat eri
als,
andperformancetr
ack-
record.

Onsel
ect
ionofsubj
ect
s:speci
fi
cat
ionsmandat
eschool
stoof
feranopt
imum number
ofsubject
sineachst
ream,
tocat
erf
orf
ullchoi
cebyl
ear
ner
swhowantt
ospeci
ali
zei
n
thatst
ream.I.
e.:

“
ChoiceTemplat
e”t
oGuideLear
ner
si nSel
ecti
onofSubject
s
Fr
om ChosenSpeci al
ist CoreSubj
ect
s Appl i
ed Ever
yday
Str
eam Subj
ects Subj
ects
ChoiceofSubjectsAl
lowed Mi ni
mum =3 Mini
mum =1 NOT
Maximum =4 Maxi mum =2 ALLOWED
Fr
om Ot herStr
eams CoreSubj
ect
s Appl i
ed Ever
yday
Subj
ects Subj
ects

Page2of2
Choi
ceofSubj
ect
sAl
lowed NOT Mi
nimum =1 Mi
nimum =1
ALLOWED Maxi
mum =2 Maxi
mum =2

Basedont
hist
empl
ateforl
ear
ner
s,school
smustoff
erar
angeofsubj
ect
sthatenables
l
earner
stomakethei
rmaximum choiceofsubj
ect
sinspeci
ali
standnon-speci
ali
st
st
reamsasfol
l
ows:

Specif
icat
ionTemplat
etoGui
deSchoolsi
nSel
ect
ionofSubj
ect
stoOffer
STREAM CORE APPLIED EVERYDAY TOTAL
SUBJECTS SUBJECTS SUBJECTS SUBJECTS
Str
eam #1 Mini
mum 4 Mi
nimum 2 Mini
mum 2 Minimum 8
Str
eam #2 Mini
mum 4 Mi
nimum 2 Mini
mum 2 Minimum 8
Str
eam #3 Mini
mum 4 Mi
nimum 2 Mini
mum 2 Minimum 8
TotalSubject
s Mini
mum 12 Mi
nimum 6 Mini
mum 6 Mini
mum 24

Dist
rict-
LevelSpecif
icat
ionsonSel ectingStreamsandSubj ect
s:
Tof aci
li
tateequityandinclusion,speci f
icati
onsareout l
i
nedf orsel
ecti
onofst
reams
andsubj ect
satt headmi ni
strativ
edi stri
ctlevel
.Ifal
llear
nersaretohaveachanceto
benefitfrom the new curriculum,t hen allstreams and rel
ated subj
ect
s mustbe
avai
lableatleasti
neachoft hedi stri
cts.

Onsel
ect
ionofst
reams:speci
fi
cat
ionsmandat
edi
str
ict
stoensur
ethatal
lthe5
streamsout li
nedfort
henew curr
icul
um ar
eav ail
abl
einsomefor
mi ntheschool
sof
thatdistri
ct.Wherethi
sisnott hecase,dist
rict
saremandat
edt orequest
/pr
ovi
de
specialsupportt
orect
if
ythedef
ici
ency.

Dist
ri
ct-
LevelSpecif
icati
onsf orSel
ecti
ngStr
eams
Eachdi st
rictshouldhav eallt
he5streamsav ail
ablein
some f orm i nt heirseniorsecondary schools.No
distr
ictshouldbewi thoutallt
he5streamsout l
inedfor
Al
l16Admi
nist
rativ
e the newc urr
icul
um.
Di
str
ict
sinSier
ra
Learners shoul
d notneed t
o move out
side ofthei
r
Leone
dist
ricttogainaccesst
oastr
eam i
nwhichtheywantto
speciali
ze.

Ifadi
stri
ctdoesnothaveoneormor
eoft he5str
eams
i
nitsschools,
suppor
tshoul
dbeprov
idedtoenabl
eone
or more select
ed schools t
o offer the mi
ssi
ng
str
eam(s).

Di
str
ict
-Lev
elSpeci
fi
cat
ionsf
orSel
ect
ingSubj
ect
s

Page3of3
 Schoolsineachoft hedist
ri
ctsshouldhavecoresubjects,
Al
l16Admi ni
strat
ive appli
ed subject
sand ev er
ydaysubj ect
sforeach oft he
Dist
ri
ctsinSierr
a str
eamst hattheychoosetoprovideforl
ear
ners.
Leone
Parti
alimplementati
on oft he cur
ri
culum shoul
d notbe
all
owedi nanyschool,nomat terhow depri
vedorremot e
thedist
ri
ctis.

School-Lev
elGuideli
nesf orSelecti
ngSt r
eamsandSubj ects:
Keepingwithinnati
onal-l
evelanddistrict-
levelspecif
icat
ions,
guidel
inesareoutl
inedfor
schoolstomakesensi bleandv i
ablesel ecti
onsoft hestreamsandsubjectstheyplanto
offer
.Thef ocusisonhel pingschool stosel ectthei
rbestoptionsinter
msofst r
eams
forwhichtheycandeliverquali
tylearningandgoont obuil
dareputati
onforexcell
ence.

Onsel
ect
ionofst
reams:gui
del
i
nessuggestschool
sshoul
dfi
rstf
ocusonsel
ect
ingt
he
3st reamst hatbestalignwi t
hthecapacityandaspi rat
ionsoft heinstit
uti
on.This
requiresmat chi
ngt herequir
ement
sofsubj ectsinast ream wi ththecapaci t
yand
resour ces t
hatt he schoolhas.These incl
ude staff
ing,f aci
li
ti
es,equi pment/t
ools,
teaching&l earningmateri
alsandotherresour
ces,aswel last akingaccountoft he
performancer ecordoftheschooli
nthesesubject
s.Foreachoft hestreams,schools
shouldout l
inewhatt heyhavetomatchrequi
rements,asint heseexamples:

ExampleofSt af
fi
ngAv ail
abl
einaSchoolf orMat
chingPur poses
Stream Subject Avai
labl
e Qual i
ficat
ion Special
izat
ion( Experi
ence
Clust
er s* Teacher sofTeacher s)ofTeacher ofTeacher
St
ream #1 Cl ust
erA 1 B.Ed. 5Year
s
Clust
erB 1 B.A. +
Dip.
Ed.
St
ream #2 Cl ust
erA 0
Clust
erB 1 HTC( Sec)
Clust
erC 2 Dipl
oma
St
ream #3 Cl ust
erA 1
Clust
erB 0
Clust
erC 1 B.Sc. +
Dip.
Ed.
*Clustersar
egr
oupsofsubj
ect
sthatcanbet
aughtbyt
hesamet
eacher(
e.g.al
lmat
hsubj
ect
sfal
li
nto2
clusters)

Exampl
eofPhysicalFaci
li
ti
esAvai
labl
einSchoolforMat chi
ngPur poses
STREAM Phy
sicalFaci
li
ti
esAvail
ablef
orTeachi
ngStr eam Subjects
St
andard Modi
fi
edRoom Special
ist Open/ Outdoor
Cl oom (
assr Used (Adj
ustfor Room (Garden/Fiel
d)

Page4of4
 asi
tis) St
ream) (
Lab/
Studi
o)
St
ream 2 1 0 0
#1
St
ream 1 0 1 1
#2
St
ream 2 1 1 0
#3

Exampl
eofEqui
pment&ToolsAv ai
labl
ei nSchoolforMat chingPurposes
STREAM Equipment&ToolsAv ai
labl
eforTeachingSt ream Subjects
Usedby UsedbyEv ery Usedby OtherTypeof
Teacher Learner specialExpert Equipment
(
Demonstrat
e)
St
ream #1 1 2Sets 0 1
St
ream #2 1 1Set 1 1
St
ream #3 0 2Sets 0 0

Onsel
ect
ionofsubj
ect
s:gui
del
i
nespr
ovi
deschool
swi
thcr
it
eri
afordeci
dingonhow
manyandwhi
chsubj
ect
stoof
feri
neachoft
hesel
ect
edst
reams.Thesegui
del
i
nesar
e
asf
oll
ows:

(
a)Asperthenati
onal-
lev
elspeci
fi
cat
ions,
school
sdonotneedt
oof
feral
lthesubj
ect
s
l
ist
edforeachstr
eam thatt
heysel
ecttoimpl
ement
.

(
b)School
smustof f
erami ni
mum of8subj ectsf
oreachst ream theyselect,wit
h
mini
mum of4cor esubj
ect
s,mi ni
mum of2appliedsubject
sandami ni
mum of2
ever
ydaysubj
ects.Thesear
emi nimum r
equir
ements.So,
ifpossi
ble,schoolsshoul
d
off
ermoresubject
sineachstr
eam.

(
c)Schoolsshouldmatchwhattheyhavewiththerequir
ementsoft hesubjectsthey
chooset ooff
eri
neachstream.Thi
sexerci
sewillindi
cat
e“ sur
pluses”or“defi
cit
s”
thatschool
scanusetobar
gainforr
esour
cestoimplementthenewcur ri
cul
um.

(
d)Therear enocompul sorysubjectsassuchi nthenewcurriculum,butSchoolsshould
selectabal ancedlistofsubjectst oref
lecttheessenceofeachoft hestr
eamst hat
theyof f
er.Thismeansaschoolshoul dnot ,
forexample,offeronlysci
encesubjects
i
nt hest r
eam t hatdealswi t
h“ Sciences&Technol ogi
es”
.Si mil
arly
,forthe“Soci
al&
CulturalStudies”st ream a schoolcannotr est
ri
ctits offer
ings to Hi
storyand
Geogr aphysubjects.

(
e)Schoolsshoul
dgivetopprior
it
yt otheinter
estsoflear
ner
sinsel ect
ingwhich
subj
ectsthey wi
l
lpr ov
ide i
n each str
eam.Forl ear
nersto benefi
tf r
om the
tr
ansfor
mativ
enatur
eoft henew curri
culum t
heymusthaveaccesst ot her
ich

Page5of5
 combinat
ionofsubjectscat
eredforundereachoft he5st r
eams.Thi smeans
school
sshould makea balanced sel
ect
ion aswellasprovi
ding guidanceand
counsel
li
ngtohel
plearner
smakesensibl
echoicesi
nli
newi
ththei
raspirati
ons.

Annex:

Char
toft
he5St
reamsandRel
atedSet
sofSubj
ect
s
SSS Cor
eSubj
ect
sinSt
ream Appl
iedSubj
ect
sinSt
ream Ev
erydaySubj ect
sin
St
reams Stream
(
1)Integr at edScience (
1)Env i
ronment alSci ence (
1)Adol
escentHeal th&
Sci
ences& (2)Biology (
2)Heal thSci ence Li
feSkill
s
Technol
ogi (
3)Chemi stry (
3)FoodSecur ity (
2)Comput erLit
eracy
es (
4)Comput erScience (
4)Engi neer i
ngSci ence (
3)PopularScience
(
5)Agr icul tur
alScience (
5)Phy sicalHeal th
(
6)ICT Educat ion
(
7)Robot ics (
6)Genet ics&Bi o-
(
8)Phy si cs Engi neer i
ng
(
1)Fundament al
sof (
1)Mat hemat icsf or (
1)Int
roductoryStat
ist
ics
Mathemati
c Mat hemat i
cs Busi nessandEnt erpri
se &Pr obabil
ity
s& (
2)Fur therMat hematics (
2)Mat hemat ics (
2)Functional
Numeracy (3)Stat istics& Appl icat ions Mathemat ics
Probabi l
it
y forCodi ng
(
4)Cal cul us (
3)Mat hemat icsf or
STEAMM
(
4)Comput erMat hemat ics
(
5)Mat hsf orot her
Discipl ines
Economi cs, (
1)Pri
ncipl
esof (
1)Princi plesofMar ket i
ng (
1)Busi
ness&Societ
y
Business& Economics (
2)Busi nessAccount i
ng (
2)Cust
omerRelat
ions
Entr
epre- (
2)Entr
epreneur
shi
p (
3)ClericalOf ficeDut ies Management
neurial (
3)Pri
ncipl
esof (
4)Insur anceManagement (
3)Micr
o/Smal
l/
Medi um

Page6of6
St
udi
es Account i
ng (
5)Busi
nessEconomi
cs Enterpr
iseMgmt.
(
4)Busi ness (
4)BusinessEthi
cs
ManagementSt udies
(
5)Princi plesof
Commer ce
(
1)Engl ishLanguage (
1)CreativeWr i
ti
ng (
1)EverydayBasicFrench
Languages (
2)AfricanLi t
erature (
2)BusinessEngl i
sh (
2)PopularLit
eratur
e
& (
3)Engl ishLi t
erature (
3)Frenchf orTourism Appreciat
ion
Li
terat
ures (
4)FrenchasaFor ei
gn (
4)TechnicalWr i
ti
ng (
3)ArabicLanguage
Language (
5)EnglishforSTEAMM (
4)Fula
(
5)SierraLeone (
6)Frenchf orBusinessand
Li
t erat ure Mar keti
ng
(
6)SierraLeone (
7)Languagef orSpeci al
Languages( Mende, NeedsEducat i
on( Lat
er)
Kat hemne, Hulimba,
Krio)
(
1)Hist oryofSi erra (
1)Geogr aphy& (
1)DancePer formance
Social& Leone Environment andAppr eciat
ion
Cultural (
2)AfricanHi story (
2)Cli
mat eChange (
2)MiningIndustry&The
Studies (
3)Geogr aphy (
3)Musi casAppliedSubj ect Environment
(
4)Musi c (
4)Entertai
nmentI ndustry (
3)Fi
shingI ndustr
y&The
(
5)Dance+Dr ama (
5)Derivati
vesofRel i
gious& Environment
Studi es Mor alEducat
ion (
4)Tourism &
(
6)Pol i
tics& Conser v
ation
Gov er nance (
5)Li
vingwi thReli
gious&
(
7)Soci alSt udies& MoralEducat i
on
Civics
(
8)Rel i
gi ous&Mor al
Educat ion(RME)

Page7of7