Dr Ruto’s decision to form education reforms taskforce a move in right direction
The Mt Kenya Times 
President William Ruto
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- Looking at complaints raised, the newly introduced Competency Based Curriculum [CBC] would bear much of it. The concerns would range from the high cost, being a burden to learners, lack of trained and enough teachers as well as public resources to roll out the CBC.
- Who is to blame for these hiccups? Majority of parents, guardians and other stakeholders would point the finger at the outgoing government of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
- The idea of replacing the 8-4-4 system [introduced in 1985] with CBC was good but the implementation was rushed. The Jubilee government failed to comply with provisions of the constitution that required them to conduct public participation.
A few days ago, President William Ruto formed a 42-member education reforms taskforce in keeping with one of the pledges he made during the campaigns.
Upon perusing the numerous complaints lodged by parents, teachers and other stakeholders, Dr Ruto had appointed a team of experts led by leading scholars and educationists to help the Kenya Kwanza coalition craft an Education Charter. As the presidential candidate of this coalition, he also ensured it was captured as one of key pillars of his manifesto.
The taskforce is headed by the leader of that team, Professor Raphael Munavu, a renowned lecturer. Dr Ruto’s decision to appoint him was wise because this is a person who understood very well the issues that needed to be addressed.
After this unveiling this taskforce, I heard some stakeholders complaining that they were left out. One of them was a teacher union and, to me, this would amount to cheap politicization of a noble initiative. Why? Six renowned teachers, who were members of these unions, had been appointed to this taskforce.
But more importantly, the contribution of most of these players was needed during the public hearing meetings. If they were members, this would not give them an opportunity to speak freely about what was on their mind.
Without their presentations, the taskforce final reports would not have been conclusive in terms of diagnosing what was ailing our education system and coming up with recommendations to cure it.
Looking at complaints raised, the newly introduced Competency Based Curriculum [CBC] would bear much of it. The concerns would range from the high cost, being a burden to learners, lack of trained and enough teachers as well as public resources to roll out the CBC.
Who is to blame for these hiccups? Majority of parents, guardians and other stakeholders would point the finger at the outgoing government of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The idea of replacing the 8-4-4 system [introduced in 1985] with CBC was good but the implementation was rushed. The Jubilee government failed to comply with provisions of the constitution that required them to conduct public participation.
Our children are doing very well. CBC is equipping them with relevant skills for job markets. The skills will help them to employ themselves after completing education. Our population is growing very fast and so white collar jobs are no longer guaranteed. Bearing this in mind, we are not advocating for scrapping of CBC.
We, however, want the new government to address the concerns we have raised. The cost of life is very high. Most of us cannot afford to cater for the needs of CBC. So the government should help us to ease this burden.
For practical lessons, the learning materials a learner is asked to carry are very expensive. Worse still, it is hard for learners, particularly those schooling in urban centre, to get them. Some of these materials are living creatures.
The other my child, who is in Grade 5, told me; those in Grade 6 have been asked to go with a hen and, in another day, a rabbit and banana stem. The taskforce should come up with recommendations on substitutes that can easily be accessed.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political commentator based in Nairobi
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