Academic and Curriculum Standards

General Principle

An accredited school must deliver the WISE Curriculum Framework in full for each qualification level at which it is accredited, using qualified teachers, within a defined academic calendar, and against a documented teaching record.

Curriculum delivery is not assessed by reference to any single document. It is assessed by reference to the composite record of planning, teaching, assessment, and outcome that a school can demonstrate at audit.

Where this page imposes an obligation to maintain a record, that record must be held in a form capable of production at audit, and must be retained in accordance with the retention requirements set out in the Data and Technology section of this portal.

Curriculum Delivery

The school must deliver all compulsory components of the WISE Curriculum Framework for each accredited qualification level, and must offer at least one elective from the approved list for each stream at upper qualification levels.

Delivery must be structured so that every learning outcome in the framework is taught before the examination that assesses it.

The school must maintain, for each subject and each class, a scheme of work setting out:

• The sequence of topics to be taught;
• The learning outcomes addressed;
• The approximate teaching hours allocated;
• The assessment instruments to be used.

The scheme of work must be revised at the commencement of each academic session, and must be made available for inspection at audit.

Substitution of an external curriculum for the WISE Curriculum Framework, whether in whole or in substantial part, constitutes a breach of the WEQSC framework. Supplementary materials may be used, but may not displace the framework.

Teaching Hours and Academic Calendar

The school must conduct not fewer than one hundred and eighty teaching days per academic session across all classes in the accredited levels.

The school must provide not fewer than the minimum weekly instruction hours specified below for each qualification level, excluding breaks:

Instruction hours include scheduled teaching, laboratory sessions, and supervised practical work. They do not include assemblies, meal breaks, examination periods, or co-curricular sessions that fall outside scheduled class time.

The academic calendar must be submitted to WEQSC through the Institution Management Portal not less than thirty days before the commencement of the academic session. Any subsequent material change must be notified within seven days.

Where the school is prevented from conducting the minimum teaching days by reason of a governmental order, natural disaster, epidemic, or similar event outside its control, it must notify WEQSC within fourteen days. WEQSC may permit a variation in the requirements of this section for that academic session.

Teacher Qualifications and Deployment

Every teacher delivering the WISE Curriculum Framework must hold, at minimum, a bachelor's degree in the subject taught, or in a closely related discipline. For subjects where a bachelor's degree in the subject is not commonly offered, the school must demonstrate to WEQSC that the teacher's qualification is equivalent.

A teaching qualification — Bachelor of Education, Diploma in Education, PGCE, or equivalent — is strongly preferred. Where it is a legal requirement of the jurisdiction, it is mandatory.

A teacher may not be deployed to teach a subject outside their qualification, save for limited temporary substitution where the substantive teacher is absent and the substitute's qualification is in a closely related discipline. Any such substitution must not exceed fifteen consecutive teaching days without WEQSC approval.

No teacher may be employed who has been disqualified from teaching by any regulatory authority, or who is the subject of an unresolved finding of professional misconduct.

The school must maintain a teacher register, containing for each teacher:

• Full name;
• Subjects taught;
• Highest qualification with institution and year;
• Teaching qualification, if any;
• Date of appointment;
• Completion status of WEQSC induction and continuing professional development.

The teacher register must be maintained current in the Institution Management Portal, and must be updated within thirty days of any change.

Student-Teacher Ratio and Class Size

The student-teacher ratio, calculated on the basis of total students enrolled in accredited classes divided by the total number of full-time-equivalent teachers deployed to those classes, must not exceed the values set out below:

A school serving a disadvantaged community may apply to WEQSC in writing for a variation of the maximum class size. A variation may be granted up to a maximum of fifty students per class, subject to the school demonstrating that the variation will not compromise the quality of instruction.

Laboratory session limits are absolute. No variation will be granted. Where a cohort exceeds the laboratory session limit, the school must split the cohort into multiple sessions, each within the limit.

Internal Assessment

Internal Assessment contributes forty per cent of the final grade in each subject. It is conducted by the school against WEQSC rubrics, and is subject to moderation.

Internal Assessment must comprise a combination of the following instruments, in proportions specified in the syllabus for each subject:

• Periodic written tests;
• Practical work and laboratory reports (where applicable);
• Project work, individual or group;
• Structured classroom participation;
• Notebook and record-keeping assessment (where specified).

For each instrument used, the school must apply the WEQSC rubric for that instrument, published with the subject syllabus. Deviation from the rubric requires prior written approval from WEQSC.

Internal Assessment marks must be submitted to WEQSC through the Institution Management Portal within seven days of the completion of the assessment in question.

Internal Assessment marks submitted to the Portal may not be altered by the school after submission. Any correction requires WEQSC approval.

A student must be informed of their Internal Assessment marks within fourteen days of each assessment, and must be given a reasonable opportunity to seek clarification from the subject teacher.

Internal Assessment — Moderation

WEQSC moderates Internal Assessment marks to ensure consistency across schools. Moderation may involve statistical analysis of mark distributions, review of a sample of student work, or both.

Where moderation indicates that a school's Internal Assessment marks are inconsistent with the school's WISE Examination results, or with the marks of comparable schools, WEQSC may require the school to submit evidence supporting the marks.

Where the evidence does not support the marks, or where the school is unable to provide evidence, WEQSC may apply a statistical adjustment to the marks. Any adjustment is communicated to the school with reasons.

A pattern of inflated Internal Assessment marks across two or more academic sessions is a Major Finding, and may constitute grounds for suspension where it is severe or repeated.

Syllabus Coverage Verification

The school must maintain a coverage record for each subject and each class, demonstrating that every topic and learning outcome in the syllabus has been taught.

The coverage record must be signed off by the subject teacher and countersigned by the Head of Department or, where there is no Head of Department, by the Principal.

At audit, WEQSC may sample coverage records and cross-check them against lesson plans, student notebooks, and examination results. A significant discrepancy between the coverage record and the observed record is a Major Finding.

Where the school becomes aware, before an examination, that part of the syllabus will not be covered before the examination, it must notify WEQSC immediately and propose a remedy. Concealment of incomplete coverage is a breach of the WEQSC framework.

Textbooks and Learning Resources

Core subjects must be taught using textbooks and reference materials from the WEQSC Approved List, published by the Secretariat and revised not less than once every three years.

Supplementary materials — workbooks, digital resources, teacher notes — may be drawn from any source, provided they do not conflict with the WISE Curriculum Framework or substitute for the approved core.

Where the approved textbook for a subject is unavailable in the jurisdiction, or where its price would prevent reasonable access by students, the school may apply to WEQSC for approval of an alternative. Approval is granted where the alternative covers the same learning outcomes to an equivalent standard.

The school must maintain sufficient copies of the approved textbooks for classroom use, and must ensure that students who cannot afford to purchase copies have access to them through the school library or a lending scheme.

Curriculum Adaptation Procedure

A school may adapt up to fifteen per cent of curriculum content to reflect local historical, geographic, cultural, or linguistic context.

An application for adaptation must be submitted to WEQSC not less than sixty days before the commencement of the academic session in which it is to take effect. The application must specify:

• The subject;
• The class;
• The content to be adapted;
• The proposed replacement;
• The rationale for the adaptation.

WEQSC will decide an application for adaptation within thirty days. An adaptation approved for one academic session does not automatically carry forward.

Adaptations applied without approval are treated as a deviation from the WISE Curriculum Framework and constitute a breach of the WEQSC framework.

Language of Instruction

The school may deliver the WISE Curriculum Framework in the language of the jurisdiction, in English, or in both, at its election.

Where the language of delivery is not English, the school must ensure that students are prepared for WISE examinations in English, and must provide translation support as required for examination scripts.

All records submitted to WEQSC — student data, Internal Assessment marks, coverage records — must be in English or accompanied by a certified English translation.

Practical and Laboratory Teaching

Where a syllabus specifies a practical component, the school must deliver it in full, in the laboratory infrastructure required by the Infrastructure Requirements page of this portal, using the equipment specified.

Every student must personally perform each prescribed practical experiment. Demonstration-only delivery does not satisfy the practical requirement.

Each student must maintain a practical record book, containing for each experiment:

• The aim;
• The apparatus used;
• The procedure;
• The observations;
• The result;
• The conclusion.

The record book must be signed by the subject teacher and countersigned by the Laboratory In-Charge.

Co-curricular, Physical Education, and Adult Education

Physical education is a compulsory component of the WISE Curriculum Framework.

Co-curricular activity — art, music, drama, debate, and similar — must be provided as part of the school's weekly schedule for students in lower classes.

In upper classes, the co-curricular period is replaced by a period of Adult Education, in which students are prepared for the transition from school to tertiary education or employment. The content includes tertiary admission awareness, study skills, financial literacy, and civic responsibility.

Breach — Consequences

A breach of any provision of this page is subject to the audit regime and, where applicable, to the suspension and termination regime set out in the Accountability section of this portal.

The following are classified as Major Findings, unless the contrary is indicated:

Where a breach is deliberate, concealed, or repeated across two or more academic sessions, it is classified as Critical irrespective of its subject-matter, and may constitute grounds for suspension.

Conclusion

The academic and curriculum standards set out in this page are the foundation on which the quality of the WISE system depends. All academic procedures not expressly set out in this portal must follow the Secretariat's official bylaws.