Nauru Secondary School (NSS) is introducing a new curriculum, the Australia Certificate of Education (ACE) which will be pioneered by Year 11 NSS students.
Nauru Media News- NTV reports the ACE curriculum will replace the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) which will be phased out this year,
To ensure the new ACE curriculum is rolled out in 2021, NSS teachers undertook professional development training and inductions on the new curriculum through audio conferences in late 2020 with the assistance of Queensland Curriculum Assessment Authority (QCAA).
The QCAA is a statutory authority of the Queensland Government responsible for the development and appropriate delivery of education at the different levels in Queensland, Australia.
The ACE curriculum is an international and nationally recognized curriculum in Australia; while the QCE curriculum is international but it is recognized only in the state of Queensland. The ACE is up to international standard and it will benefit the Nauruan students doing the curriculum in applying for further studies in Universities abroad. They will have more opportunities as well and certainly have more chances in acceptance because it is recognized Australia wide and not just in Queensland.
The 2021 Year 11 students will pioneer the ACE curriculum this school year and complete it next year in Year 12. Should theses students successfully complete the curriculum in 2022, they will be the first cohort to do so.
The transition from QCE to the ACE curriculum is in line with the Ministry of Education’s plans to improve school leavers’ education and better prepare them for their futures should they embark on further studies or career pathways and enter the work force.
Through the ACE curriculum, students have subject options such as general subjects which are up to standard and will assist them in future when applying at a University as they will not require prerequisites, and then there are applied subjects available to the students which are more practical and hands on.
Nauru Secondary School has also sought and got approval from the education department to commence tutorial classes for Year 9 and 10 students. The tutorials have commenced on Wednesday 10th February 2021 but stopped to allow Nauru Secondary school through the education department iron out issues regarding transport for students and other matters of concern. The tutorial classes resumed on Monday 15th February 2021.
The tutorial classes are open to all year 9 and 10 students whether they are academically sound or struggling. Parents and guardians are required to sign consent forms to allow their child take the tutorial classes.
Year 9 and 10 students will take tutorial classes on the four core national curriculum which include; Mathematics, English, General Science and Social Science.
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