Presidential Decision on Curriculum Based Competence Lauded

By: Elizabeth Angira

Worth Noting:

• Speaking during a ceremony to transit PP2 learners to Grade one, at Precious Hope Academy, the stakeholders remarked their concerns for the learners’ age bracket had been addressed.
• The stakeholders, however, expressed fears over the high demand the CBC placed on their shoulders and petitioned the government to explore other ways of reducing the burden.
• They also appealed to the education authorities to put in place the much needed infrastructure in primary schools for smooth implementation of the curriculum.
• Samuel Gekonge, the director of the school defended the CBC saying it will impart knowledge and skills in the learners that were useful in the contemporary society.

A cross section of stakeholders have lauded the Presidential decision to domicile junior secondary education level in primary schools.

This was after the report that was presented to President   Dr William Ruto on 1/12/2022 at State House also indicates that Grade 6 Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) will not be used for placement in Junior Secondary School.

The report also indicated that junior secondary schools will be domiciled in primary schools, an interim report by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform shows.

Instead, KPSEA will be used to monitor learning progress and offer feedback to education sector players on areas that require intervention.

The report noted that the Ministry of Education, Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development and the Teachers Service Commission will work on modalities of fast-tracking the retooling of teachers to ensure the country has sufficient numbers who are CBC-compliant.

Speaking during a ceremony to transit PP2 learners to Grade one, at Precious Hope Academy, the stakeholders remarked their concerns for the learners’ age bracket had been addressed.

The stakeholders, however, expressed fears over the high demand the CBC placed on their shoulders and petitioned the government to explore other ways of reducing the burden.

They also appealed to the education authorities to put in place the much needed infrastructure in primary schools for smooth implementation of the curriculum.

Samuel Gekonge, the director of the school defended the CBC saying it will impart knowledge and skills in the learners that were useful in the contemporary society.

He termed the grade six examination ruled out as a transitory yardstick to junior secondary school as a means of ‘gauging’ the learners’ preparedness.

“I can assure the parents that CBC is the best curriculum in Kenya and the whole world, “he said.

A parent, Richard Nyakundi, observed some schools will miss key facilities including laboratories and petitioned the government to assist in their installation.

Ruth Magoma said the new curriculum had trained her daughter to perform certain chores that she could not have managed at her tender age.

The report further stated that the Government will prioritize the construction of laboratories and an extra classroom in every primary school within the next one year with Members of Parliament being asked to allocate requisite resources.

Primary schools that neighbor secondary schools will in the interim share the laboratories and other facilities with junior secondary schools.

Priority, it went further, will be given to those teachers who will be handling Grade 7 learners.

To facilitate the transition and bridge teacher shortage, the government will recruit an additional 30,000 teachers by January 2023.