Let us jealously guard new curriculum ideals
By Editorial.Team, November 24, 2023The release of the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam results heralds the end of a great era and the new beginning of an education system that is expected to propel the country to an industrial epoch.
As the government evaluates the highs and lows of the outgoing 8-4-4 education system, it should also have in mind the daunting tasks it faces as it embarks on the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
Worthy to note is the fact that the government is already working on how to address the transition challenges that are likely to face the last cohort of KCPE candidates by ensuring a 100 per cent transition.
As in the words of Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu, besides the government ensuring all learners who were in Class Eight sat the 2023 exams even in cases where they had not been registered, it would also see to it that no pupil misses a Form One slot.
The 8-4-4 system had its misses, including being exam-oriented and more academic as opposed to exploring and nurturing learners’ competencies and capabilities. The system has been accused of churning out half-baked graduates who had glaring deficiencies for the job market, resulting in high rate of unemployment.
Despite all the challenges, statistics by the Ministry of Education indicate at least 26 million Kenyans have so far gone through the system, accounting for almost 70 per cent of educated citizens, a no mean feat.
CBC on the other hand, is expected to shift the approach from exam-oriented to the formative assessment of each learner’s potential, with teachers having the responsibility of assessing learner’s potential from pre-primary to the secondary level as they are guided to select their individualised career pathway.
The transition comes at a time when the government is going through harsh economic times with a recent admission by the ministry that it is struggling to fully fund the free secondary education programme.
There is little evidence on the ground to show the government’s preparedness on how to deal with the intakes of next year, when this last cohort of KCPE join Form One at the same time the second batch of CBC joins Junior Secondary School.