KICD Cuts CBC Subjects in Primary and Secondary Education

KICD Cuts CBC Subjects in Primary and Secondary Education

KICD Cuts CBC Subjects in Primary and Secondary Education. President William Ruto on Tuesday, August 1, 2023 announced an ambitious plan with a set of recommendations to reform the education system from preschool to higher education as the transition to 8-4-4 is gaining momentum.

The report of the President’s Task Force on Education Reform (PWPER) was presented to Dr. Ruto at State House, Nairobi. If fully implemented, the report, which the president says he is very proud of, would upset the entire education system.

“I will lead the team to ensure that the recommendations are implemented for the benefit of the children and society,” he said.

PWPER was appointed at the end of September last year and has traveled around the country to gather comments from the public. His term expired at the end of March but Dr. Ruto extended it to June 9, 2023 for not having completed his duties.

“The country is no longer restless because we have resolved all concerns about what will happen to our children,” said Dr. Ruto.

PWPER is chaired by Professor Raphael Munavu and mission accomplished, now the focus is on implementing the recommendations.

The document includes proposed legislative changes that would require Parliamentary action.
Primary and secondary school students will be less burdened after the group proposes to reduce the number of classes.

“Stakeholders have expressed concern about the high number of learning areas in primary and secondary schools; overloaded and overlapping curriculum; high CBC update costs passed on to parents; Internet and electricity connectivity problems negatively impact digital literacy; and low literacy and numeracy for basic learning,” the report said.

Therefore, PWPER recommends the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) to reduce the number of learning areas from 9 to 7 for grades 1 to 3, from 12 to 8 for grades 4 to 6 and from 14 to 9 for grades 7 to 9 . .
The number of learning areas will be five preschool zones and seven middle school zones (grades 7 to 12).

PWPER envisions a comprehensive school that includes preschool, elementary, and middle school on one campus and operates as a single institution.The term “high school” will be dropped from the current middle and high schools. In response to intense competition for places in high schools, the report recommends abolishing the classification of schools as national, out-of-town, county or sub-county and reclassifying boarding schools. , boarding, mixed (semi-boarding/boarding). schools), mixed (boys/girls) and according to the streams they offer at the high school level.

In an effort to incorporate community service learning – a key component of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) – the report proposes a curriculum inspired by the pre-college curriculum of The National Youth Service collapsed in the 1980s.

“Introduced a mandatory three-month community service program for high school graduates before entering institutions of higher education and an additional nine months of mandatory community service upon completion of higher education. Community service completion certificates should be issued as proof of completion prior to being admitted to the workforce,” the report states.

He further suggested that the Ministry of Education (MOE) develop a policy framework on dress code for all levels of education. Given the concerns raised by stakeholders about the qualifications of teachers to implement the CBC, the report recommends that the Ministry of Education develop guidelines for all teachers graduating before 2023 to undergo retraining and Compulsory retraining for one year.

This really means all teachers in service and those who are unemployed.

“With the gradual rollout of CBC, the Ministry of Education and industry stakeholders should prioritize retooling teachers to match the new CBC requirements and learning areas/subjects,” the report states. know.
Teacher training, formerly the responsibility of the Teacher Services Commission (TSC), has now been transferred to the MoE, significantly reducing the authority of the TSC.

Universities are also expected to develop one-year refresher programs for teachers in preparation for competency-based teacher training programs.