Teachers have rejected the planned roll-out of the new curriculum in January until the government addresses the gaps pointed out by evaluators, setting the stage for yet another bruising battle with the State when schools reopen next week.
Just a week ago, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) announced a nationwide strike starting January 2 to protest the planned transfer of 3,000 teachers by their employer, the Teachers Service Commission.
And, on Sunday, the union further stoked the confusion surrounding the first school term of 2019 when it rejected the surprise announcement last Friday by Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed that the government had back-pedalled on its earlier plans to delay the roll-out of the new curriculum by a year, and that the new system will begin next month.
In a statement to the media, Ms Mohamed said the decision had been arrived at after consultation with various stakeholders, including faith-based organisations, Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, Teachers Service Commission (TSC), Kenya National Examinations Council, Kenya Private Schools Association, Kenya Publishers Association, Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association, Kenya Primary School Heads Association, and the National Parents Association.
Knut secretary-general Wilson Sossion said teachers were not consulted during that meeting, and that the omission had rendered Ms Mohamed’s surprise announcement null.
In any case, Mr Sossion continued, a meeting with the ministry and other education stakeholders on December 15 this year at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development had agreed to push the roll-out to 2020.
“It is wrong for us to push this system when we have been told about its weaknesses,” he said. “We need to fix these, probably next year, before the national roll-out.”
He was referring to an October 2018 report by KICD, which indicated that teachers were ill-prepared to instruct pupils using the methods proposed in the new Competency-Based Curriculum, which is designed to influence learner behaviour and tap talent early
“Some teachers are struggling with the concept and lack the capacity demanded by the new curriculum,” said the report that also pointed out that many schools did not have adequate or any learning materials for the roll-out.
The proposed curriculum is a replacement of the current 8-4-4 system, introduced in 1985 by then President Daniel Arap Moi. The curriculum is designed to provide eight years of primary education, four years of secondary education and four years of university, and places emphasis on mathematics, English and vocational subjects.
Another study by external evaluators, led by former Moi University Vice-Chancellor Prof Laban Ayiro, found out that the role of teachers in the new curriculum design had been marginal, and the system of instruction had used such technical language that teachers could make little sense of.
As the confusion regarding how thousands of pupils will be taught, if at all, grew, it has been established that pressure from high office could have forced Ms Mohamed to backtrack on her earlier decision to postpone the national launch.
Ms Mohamed is said to have been instructed to roll out the curriculum immediately and address the gaps identified by the evaluators — including lack of funds, ill-trained teachers, and failure by the government to anchor the review process in law — during the implementation.