NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept, 13 – President William Ruto is expected to form a presidential task force that will deliberate on the current state of the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) that has no doubt transformed the country’s education sector.
The task force is expected to be formulated in the coming weeks before kicking off its mandate which will include obtaining the views of stakeholders across the country.
“On education and in particular the implementation of the CBC, public participation is crucial in this matter. I will establish an education reform task force in the presidency which will be launched in the coming weeks, it will collect views from all players in line with the constitutional demand of public participation,” said Ruto.
A section of parents has expressed concerns over the curriculum, particularly its implementation which is said to be ‘costly’.
“…and we are particularly alive to the anxieties of parents on the twin transition of the last 8-4-4 class and the first CBC class next year, I assure all that there will be a solution to the matter before then,” said the president.
Kenya Kwanza affiliated leaders while on the campaign trail promised to ‘overhaul’ the curriculum saying that they will introduce one that is ‘best’ for learners, teachers, and even parents.
During the third term of this year’s academic calendar, the Kenya National Examination Council will be administering three national exams, KCPE, KSCE, and an assessment that will pave way for learners to join Junior Secondary School.
Transition To JSS
Transition to JSS will be guided by the assessment outcomes of the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA).
Under the CBC, Junior Secondary School (JSS) will comprise Grades 7, 8, and 9.
During the grading of grade six assessments that will facilitate the transition to grade seven, KNEC in their guidelines revealed that they will factor in the results of both the formative and summative assessments.
The summative assessment will contribute to 40 per cent of learners’ score while the formative will contribute to 60 per cent drawn from assessments administered in grades four, five, and six. At every stage, they will amount to 20 per cent, totaling 60 per cent.
KNEC will assess the 13 subjects offered at upper primary level using five papers.
They include Mathematics, English, Kiswahili/Kenyan Sign Language, Integrated Science which comprises Science and Technology; Agriculture; Home Science; and, Physical and Health Education, and Creative Arts and Social Studies which combines four subjects among them Social Studies; Christian Religious Education/Islamic Religious Education/Hindu Religious Education; Art and Craft and Music.
The overall score will be reported as a summation of the scores in the five papers and will be out of 500 marks.
The credibility of School-Based-Assessments (SBAs) is expected to be upheld with relevant measures put in place.
Grade Six learners will sit their final assessment from November 28 to November 30, 2022.
Meanwhile, as opposed to the examination certificate issued by the Exam council after candidates completed their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) Examination under the 8-4-4 curriculum, they will now be issued with a transition report for the KPSEA.
A total of 2,512,467 learners are expected to join secondary school education in accordance with the government policy of 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary schools.
They include, 1,268,830 learners enrolled in Grade 6 in 2022 who will transition to grade 7 under the CBC and 1,243,637 Standard 8 cohort of 2022 who will transition to Form One under the 8-4-4 system.
CBC Challenges
Already in the early stages of learning under the CBC, a review conducted by KICD in 2021 revealed worrying findings such as inadequate time allocated for several learning areas such as Kiswahili, English, and Literacy.
The challenges raised by stakeholders include inadequate teacher preparedness, cost implication on parents to purchase certain learning materials, and poor infrastructure in learning institutions among many others.
A parent who spoke to Shahidi News said that the school his child goes to has made incessant demands to purchase several textbooks despite the government already providing books to learners in the ratio of 1:1.
“I have been forced to purchase several books yet I wonder, didn’t the government buy books for learners? I was told one book was enough per subject yet now I have to buy several which I feel is not necessary,” said a parent during an interview with Shahidi News in 2021.
Education Cabinet Secretary prof. George Magoha refuted claims of ‘an expensive curriculum’ saying that the government has fully funded the curriculum in order to ensure its success.
“When you see so-called experts saying you must fund. What is it they are talking about? What they should be asking is they need to challenge us to get value for money, but as far as the government is concerned it is on top of the budget. If we are to move in the same direction, why is CBC expensive? First of all, it is unfair for you to ask us to say how much it will cost to implement CBC. You should ask yourself how much is the government giving and is the government giving it,” he said during an interview with Shahidi News in 2021.
Magoha however called on teachers to also ease the burden on parents in terms of expenses encouraging them to use locally available resources while teaching.
“Teachers in public, private schools….anything that should be printed should be projected in the school because every school has a means of projecting. If something needs printing and it is not working it is cheaper for the teacher to capture it and project,”
Even as Magoha accused a section of stakeholders of ‘confusing and distracting’ learners and parents alike on the CBC implementation process, other education officials also called on private school administrators to refrain from putting unnecessary pressure on parents in terms of demanding them to purchase excess learning materials.
“A child will only need one book recommended by the government. Some of these issues also concern us since the demands defeat the purpose of the CBC,” said a ministry of education official.
CBC Learning Structure
The 2-6-3-3-3 is tailored around seven core competencies that learners must have in one form or another attained by the end of their learning.
They include Communication and collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving, imagination and creativity, citizenship, digital literacy, learning to learn, and self-efficacy.
It further recommends that learners should join institutions of learning at the early stages in pre-primary 1 at the age of four before proceeding to Pre-primary 2.
The learner will then proceed to primary school which has been graded and divided into lower and upper primary.
Lower primary will commence in grades 1, 2, and 3 while upper primary will begin in grades 4,5, and 6.
At this point in time, the CBC has been rolled out to grade 5. Learners will join grade 6 next year (2022) before joining secondary school.
It is worth noting that before proceeding to secondary school, learners will undertake a summative assessment at grade 6 that will be worth 40 marks. This will be combined with the initial 20 marks awarded in the formative assessment in grades 4,5 and even 6 totaling 100 marks.
Secondary School will be divided into junior and senior secondary schools.
Junior Secondary School will consist of grades 7,8, and 9 while Senior Secondary School will consist of grades 10,11, and 12 which will be rolled out in 2028 completely phasing out the old education system.
Learners will undertake a national assessment at the end of grade 9 which will determine their placement in senior secondary school, in turn following their preferred career pathways.
Learners will make choices from a range of disciplines organized in three pathways and nine tracks based on their abilities, interests, and career choices.
The pathways include Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics(STEM), Social Sciences, Sports Science, and Arts sciences. Each pathway has various subjects under it.
To fully master one’s skills/specialization, learners will then finally proceed to tertiary institutions (TVET, Colleges, or Universities) for a couple of years depending on one’s course before joining the job market.
Stakeholders have meanwhile called for a re-organization of structures and programmes in universities to ensure they adequately cater to learners pursuing STEM courses as well sports and the performing arts in line with CBC guidelines.
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