Updated List of Venues and Dates For Collection of CBC Views

Teachers and Parents Lead Calls For Suspension of CBC

Stakeholders in the education sector are sharply divided over the fate of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) as public participation on the fate of the curriculum laid bare the fears and weaknesses that has bedeviled the implementation of CBC.

In several forums held across the country, some stakeholders have been pushing for the suspension of CBC, saying its implementation was rushed by the government.

Some parents, however, want the government to inject more funds to support CBC, arguing they have already spent a fortune on the curriculum.

The developments came out during Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms meetings with stakeholders in parts of the country to collect views on CBC.

Read also:

TSC Sacks a Principal For Hosting and Feeding a Sick Girl in His House

Khamala Promises to Impeach Nancy Macharia

Teacher Recruitment to Occur at Zonal Level

TSC Compelled to Review Delocalization Policy

Junior secondary School Remains a Puzzle, Weeks to grade 7 Transition

TSC Begins Deployment of 36,000 Teachers to Junior Secondary Schools

List of Primary schools approved to host Junior Secondary schools

Final List of Public Junior Secondary Schools

In Bungoma, Homa Bay and Elgeyo Marakwet, stakeholders said lack of preparedness by the government to implement CBC had exposed the curriculum to possible failure.

Stakeholders, including teachers, said they were still unprepared for CBC, adding the system must undergo serious reforms for it to succeed.

In Homa Bay, teachers said they were not well-prepared to handle CBC and faulted the government for failing to put in place the right structures and training to ensure the system runs smoothly.

This emerged at Homa Bay High School during a public participation convened by the CBC taskforce led by Prof Collins Odote.

Speaking after presenting their memorandum, the Kenya National Union of Teachers(Knut) said teachers were harassed to deter them from telling the government the truth on when and how to implement the CBC.

Knut Secretary in Homa Bay County Patrick Were, Homa Bay Executive Secretary Cornel Ojuok and his Rachuonyo Counterpart Eliud Ombori, said failure to accept the truth had led to the problems bedevilling implementation of the curriculum.

Were said teachers were threatened with interdiction whenever they attempted to say the truth about the curriculum.

“CBC has numerous issues but it is unfortunate that any teacher who tried to tell the truth received threats, including interdiction. We are glad that President William Ruto’s government has given us opportunity to tell the truth about this curriculum, ” Were said.

He said CBC should be suspended at the end of this academic year until President Ruto makes a final determination after the taskforce’s findings.

“Our position is that the CBC should be suspended as soon as possible until the president makes a determination on whether to scrap it or continue with it. As it is today, it is causing harm to teachers, parents and pupils, “Were said.

Some of the weaknesses pointe out is a requirement that parents also have a direct role in teaching their children,“yet some parents never went to school”.

In Bungoma, parents called for the suspension of CBC, saying it was not being implemented correctly while teachers are also ill-equipped for CBC.

They said implementation of CBC was rushed unnecessarily.

Speaking during a public hearing at St Teresa’s Primary School in Bungoma on Thursday, residents termed the curriculum complex and hard to actualize in rural public schools.

Benard Wafula,a parent from Bumula, said all stakeholders ought to have been involved before CBC rollout.

“The curriculum was forced on parents, teachers, and learners by the government, but I believe it can work if rolled out smoothly with all stakeholders on board,”Wafula told the education task force.

He said CBC would be useful to learners and society at large if implemented in the right manner.

“It is good because it is a practical oriented curriculum meant to jog the minds of learners but its success is dependent on the goodwill of stakeholders, including teachers, parents, and other actors in the education sector,” he said.

Some of the stakeholders said CBC ought to be simplified to make it less expensive. They demanded that junior secondary schools be domiciled in primary schools considering the age of the learners.

Participants also cited the high cost of implementing CBC and poor infrastructure and shortage of teachers among others as major impediments to the implementation of the curriculum in public schools.

Students’ representatives from various secondary schools across the county said CBC should not be scrapped as suggested in some quarters. They want grey areas to be refined to allow smooth implementation of the curriculum.

Support us

Thanks for reading our article. Funds From this blog goes towards needy children. Kindly Support them by clicking the button below:
DONATE NOW

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here