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Focus on Curriculum WHY WE SHOULD GIVE CBC A CHANCE
JEFFREY WEKESA
Lately , there has been much furore about the competency based curriculum , with the divisive factor being , its shortcomings and expected outcomes . From the hue and cry it seems that parents with children in private schools are bearing the brunt of the systems shortcomings . Complaints abound about how demanding and expensive the curriculum is , particularly , on parent ’ s time and financial resources .
And it ’ s not just parents who are unhappy ; it appears teachers are also unhappy . The immediate former Secretary General of KNUT , Hon . Wilson Sossion ’ s was recently quoted saying that CBC is a fraudulent system that threatens to reverse the education gains the country has made . Professor Lukoye Atwoli , on the other hand had this to say , “ CBC will create a bigger gulf between the have and have not ’ s .”
At the height of this debate the President of the Law Society of Kenya , Mr . Nelson Havi decided to move to court to save parents from what he termed as , ‘ the CBC burden ’. The government on the other hand has stood its ground , with the education CS saying that CBC is going nowhere , it is here to stay . .
It is almost impossible not to sympathize with ‘ CBC parents ’, who are bearing most of the financial burden , or with the teachers , who are ill prepared for the momentous challenge of delivering this new curriculum , or with academicians , like Prof . Lukoye who have had an opportunity to interrogate this subject in detail . To be very honest each and all , have a point
But if we were to look at it from a different perspective , in line very much with Prof . Lukoye ’ s thinking . One realizes that this simmering crisis has indeed given us the perfect opportunity to review CBC . We have with us the ideal occasion , timely in every respect , to review and interrogate the progress this system has made since its inception in 2017 .
And as we take stock , we must , in my opinion first and foremost acknowledge , that just by its design and intention , CBC has been a marked departure from 8-4-4 . For in adopting a student centered learning regime , we have dared to remove the focus from the teacher and turned the spot light to the student . This for me has been CBC ’ s biggest success . Such a milestone would never have been achieved directly under 8-4-4 regime , or by tweaking 8-4-4 , which , is the approach apparently favored by the detractors of CBC .
It is indeed a massive milestone , because , by shifting the focus to the student and by crafting a learning regime that seeks to inculcate the building up of skills and capabilities . We as a nation are addressing what has been in short supply in this country – competency . High sounding as this may sound , competency ; skilled , efficient and capable people able to perform tasks without supervision is what every employer is looking for . But today , employers are struggling to find workers who understand the basics . So the question I think we ought to be asking ourselves at this juncture , as we go about reviewing CBC ’ s report card , is – is CBC living up to its billing ? What direction is CBC taking ? Will it address competency issues in the fullness of time ? But perhaps it ’ s too early to tell . Then , a better question to ask at this moment is , what do we want from our children or rather what kind of future do we want for our children to create ?
In my opinion these are important questions and how we choose to answer them , will shed light on the best way forward for our education system . Particularly , in light of the fluid and constant change that is taking place all around us . And in cognizance very much with our global and continental aspirational goals ; i . e . SDG No . 4 - on equitable , inclusive and lifelong learning approaches , and AU agenda 2063 – on Africa ’ s master plan to transform itself into a global powerhouse .
In a sense , we are at crossroad . Every African country is at a crossroad . Irrespective of our peculiar shortcomings as a people , as a country or as a continent the script should be clear by now . We must find and make our own way to the future . In this regard our education systems will and must play an important , if not the most important role . For instance education must seek not only to be the channel that will educate our people . But it must also seek to be a channel for aspiration . The channel that will affirm and commit to assisting every student and child discover , develop and unleash their inherent skills and potentialities .
Looking beyond CBC ’ s report card and ahead , one realizes the biggest challenge we shall face in the future is what to do with our graduates and school leavers . Year on year , the number of job seekers ( graduates and school leavers ) versus the number of jobs created is increasing . The government can only do so
EdSource Quarterly | Oct-Dec l 2021