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The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) now wants some of the components of the 8-4-4 system of education collapsed together with the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) to strengthen the latter and make it more progressive.

Secretary General Francis Atwoli’s presentation to the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms, holds that the idea behind CBC is excellent and thus 8-4-4 system should not be totally disbanded especially considering the similarities the two have.

Atwoli presented COTU’s 12 recommendations to the tasforce on the fate of the CBC arguing that there was no justifiable cause to adopt the 2-6-6-3 structure proposed in CBC which can be fitted in the 8-4-4.

“Since the government rolled out the CBC there have been serious concerns from major partners. We are of the view that we shouldn’t collapse the 8-4-4 structure, the major components of the CBC curriculum should only buttress the 8-4-4 curriculum,” said Atwoli.

Whereas there is a need to review the education curriculum to be at par with the changing world, Atwoli argued, there is a serious need to review the effectiveness of the Ministry of Education, as an implementer, in the successes and failures of 8.4.4 or any other future curriculum.

“It remains true that skills remain integral, and that the world and the job market needs are driven by Information Communication Technology skills and other skill sets that were either highly absent or not being implemented,” said Atwoli.

COTU further observes that to a great extent, CBC is good for the country and that stakeholders should work towards implementing great parts of it adding that any progressive curriculum should not just focus on imparting skills to learners but also encourage them to think creatively, independently, innovatively, and critically.

“As much as there is a serious need to integrate the knowledge-based systems of learning with the skill-based systems, to align with the various visions and agendas in and out of the continent, in doing so, we must always remember that at the core of any education system is promoting equality, equity and providing quality education,” he added.

Atwoli noted that in adopting any change in the education curriculum, the same must focus on the philosophy behind the system to be adopted and not the practice, for instance, making CBC more African. 

“As currently adopted, the CBC is so foreign and doesn’t take into stock our socio-economic realities. This is the case with many ideas we have adopted from the West where we much or less copy-paste.

“COTU holds the view that there is no structural problem with our education and there is no need to redesign the structure of our education from the current 8-4-4 to 2-6-6-3,” said Atwoli.