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Lawmakers yesterday continued to express anger and dissatisfaction over the implementation of the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) which commenced seven years ago.

While contributing to a motion by Mbeere MP Geoffrey Ruku calling for the development of a policy for funding of Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) in the country, the legislators regretted that the government proceeded to implement the policy yet schools have no basic infrastructure such as classrooms, workshops and playing grounds for children.

They claimed that the rush to implement the policy comes at a time when funding to public schools has been inadequate in the face of the 100 per cent transition policy which has witnessed the number of learners increase tremendously.

The legislators raised concerns over the transition from primary school to JSS saying parents had been forced to spend more money on their children especially those who were forced to join institutions that had JSS domiciled there.

Led by Ruku, the MPs who included Nabii Nabwera (Lugari), Joyce Bensouda (Homabay County women representative), Pamela Njeru (Embu County women Representative), Rachel Nyamai (Kitui South), Rindikiri Mugambi (Buuri), Majimbo Kalasinga (Kabuchai) and Duncan Mathenge (Nyeri town) told the government to immediately develop a clear implementation framework for the CBC Curriculum at Junior Secondary School level and provide for a funding plan for successful implementation of the Curriculum.

Expressed concerns

In particular, Ruku told the Ministry of Education to develop a comprehensive Junior Secondary Schools Policy in order to regularise and anchor the guidelines under the Basic Education Act, 2012 to ensure that Junior Secondary Schools are established and operated in every primary school.

He expressed concerns that basing JSS in selected primary schools will render classroom facilities that previously housed classes seven and eight redundant and that the arrangement would compel students to travel for longer distances to access institutions where Junior Secondary Schools are based;

“Further concerned that the guidelines recently issued by the Government directed that Junior Secondary Schools be domiciled in the existing primary schools, yet most primary schools lack the capacity to accommodate and effectively offer Junior Secondary School curriculum; we are also deeply concerned that the guidelines were hurriedly developed and operationalised,” he said.

Preliminary report

The sentiments by the lawmakers come at a time when a task force looking into the education system in its preliminary report recommended the country to have a five-year transition period to phase out the 8-4-4 system.

Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms argued that within that period, the country would have developed adequate infrastructure for the new education system.

Bensouda and Njeru said although CBC is a good policy it should have been well thought out before being implemented.

“CBC curriculum is not bad but the manner in which it was implemented is the issue here, it was done in a hurry and people were not given time to ventilate on it,” said Njeru.

Nabwera said that what is ailing CBC and the implementation of JSS is the lack of policy and clear framework on what needs to be done, by whom and when.

The Lugari lawmaker noted that all primary schools should have JSS domiciled on them to enable smooth transition.

Nyamai told the Ministry of Education to give the country a proper linkage between the Education Act of 2012 and link it properly with all other amendments that have been done within education laws to ensure that it connects well with CBC.

Rindikiri claimed that the programme was rushed and well thought out as the implementers of the policy only came up with the core competencies but failed to provide basic commodities such as classrooms for children.

He observed that although the expenditure for the CBC is supposed to be Sh15,000 per child, this has not been distributed to the schools as is required.

Kalasinga told the government to totally take over the expense aspect of CBC, especially now when the cost of living is going up.

Mathenge told the government to starts taking children education more seriously than it is happening today.

“Despite the CBC programme having started 7 years ago, when it was time for Junior Secondary, we started running around helter skelter like a country that did not know that this date was coming,” he said.