MPs, unions poke holes in competency based system
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha unveils a plaque at Allidina Visram High School in Mombasa when he officially opened a new classroom which will host junior secondary school students on February 6. Kevin Odit | Nation
MPs and teachers’ unions have raised fresh concerns over the implementation of the competency-based curriculum (CBC), citing inadequate capacity by teaching staff. The curriculum is set to be rolled out in secondary schools next year.
Speaking in Kericho County at the weekend, the stakeholders faulted the government for putting more emphasis on building classrooms to accommodate the rising number of students and failing to adequately train and employ more teachers.
Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) Secretary-General Akello Misori and his Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) counterpart Collins Oyuu lamented the lack of resources in most schools.
MPs Hillary Koskei (Kipkelion West), Joseph Limo (Kipkelion East), Wilson Sossion (nominated) and former legislators Langat Magerer and Jackson Rop faulted the quality of training conducted by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
“The integrity of our education system solely depends on the teachers’ preparedness for its implementation. We should address the issues raised by the trade unions, parents and leaders on the CBC system,” said Mr Oyuu. He said it was not enough for the Ministry of Education to expand infrastructure in schools without adequately preparing the teachers.
“The country faces a serious shortage of teachers, a matter that needs intervention by Parliament to allocate funds to TSC to employ more than 30,000 trained tutors,” said Mr Oyuu.
Mr Misori added: “It’s unfortunate that the ministry has focused on expanding infrastructure but neglecting training of teachers.”
The officials said not only was there was confusion on the anchoring of junior secondary, but the government had also failed to give the requisite training to secondary school teachers.
TSC plans to train the first batch of 60,000 teachers when schools close next month. TSC boss Nancy Macharia said 229,292 primary school teachers from both public and private schools for Grades One to Five and 1,166 tutors from different colleges have already been trained.
Speaking after a meeting with Narok County Kuppet officials led by branch executive secretary Charles Ngeno, Mr Misori said public participation was not conducted before implementation of the curriculum. Kuppet vice-chairman Julius Korir and organising secretary Paul Maingi said there was need for better training.
“The 8-4-4 system had challenges that were not addressed. We cannot jump into another programme that has glaring issues. We must ensure we get it right from the beginning so as to build the people’s confidence in the education system,” said Mr Korir.
The MPs said Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha had failed to engage stakeholders in the formulation and implementation of the new system. They claimed he was “bulldozing through an education system that was bound to fail due to poor implementation matrix”.
“We have repeatedly raised the grey areas in implementation of the CBC but as unionists, professional teachers and leaders, but the government has closed all its doors that would have addressed the issues. We are confident that a new government will correct the anomalies at the end of this year,” said Mr Sossion.
In a recent interview, Prof Magoha had maintained that implementation of the CBC would proceed as scheduled.
“We have no apologies to make to anybody, this curriculum is here to stay. In my life, it’s the most transformative thing I have seen. It must be implemented fully,” he said. A parent, Ms Esther Ang’awa, has moved to court to challenge the implementation of the curriculum, arguing that it was an economic burden to many. Her lawyer, Mr Nelson Havi, said in court documents that the legal framework for implementation of the programme was faulty.
