ENHANCING QUALITY IN CURRICULUM AND LEARNING OUTCOMES: RESPECT TO PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

Quality in education has become the prime concern of countries the world over. Quality is the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution. Total quality management in education is a universal compulsion. In Ethiopia, promoting quality has been the focus of almost all the committees constituted at different stages of development of Ethopian Education system. Enhancement of quality is an institutional effort and is not merely an outcome of an individual's conviction. There should be a participatory and consultative decision–making to implement quality enhancement strategies. Prospective teachers are to be equipped with mental / intellectual abilities that enable them to refine thoughts, to reason and to judge. Present secondary school curriculum should be redesigned to enable the students in developing thinking ability. Goals should suit the contemporary as well as the larger needs of society. The attention of schools should focus on the right priorities and responsibilities especially with reference to teaching and learning. Improvement of teaching methods using educational technology, projects, providing computer skills and thinking skills, encouragement of co-curricular activities and incorporation of community orientation are to be observed. Life skills should be taught along with the regular lessons. Human resource development should be taken care off. Cooperation among the staff, management, students, heads of institutions are very important. An aura of healthy competition builds up wherever there is a healthy, mutually encouraging, congenial atmosphere. Improvement of teaching methods using educational technology, projects, providing computer skills and thinking skills, encouragement of co-curricular activities and incorporation of community orientation are to be observed if quality is to be enhanced.