Do you think the current education system need reforms? Should a new curriculum be introduced again after the proposed 2-6-3-3 collapsed? Well, a teachers union has proposed a curriculum that provides appropriate academic content for effective teaching and learning at low cost.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) wants the new competency-based curriculum shelved to make room for consultations. This came a day after Education CS Amina Mohamed suspended the implementation of the new curriculum, which was set to begin in January. Amina said this would allow Education sector players to meet and deliberate on the way forward.
But Knut wants a fresh start on the review to assess and consider Kenya’s needs.
A document by the giant teachers’ union focusses on content for effective teaching and learning. It further proposes a 12-grade single tier at the basic education level. This means merging the eight years of primary and four years of secondary school programmes.
In so doing, the union proposes that content taught in primary schools be condensed and accommodated up to grade five.
“Academic subjects should be cut off from practical everyday knowledge, taught in relative isolation from one another, stratified by ability, sequenced by age, grounded in textbooks, and delivered in a teacher-centered classroom,” the document reads.
Knut secretary general Wilson Sossion yesterday said competency-based education curriculum will thrive at a much cheaper cost if their suggestions are considered.
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers believes the curriculum would fail if implemented next year as “it lacks goodwill from sector players”.
Unlike Knut, however, the union said it will support the new curriculum if enough resources and manpower are provided to ensure successful implementation.
Secretary general Akello Misori praised Amina for halting it. It was doomed to fail as its implementation was rushed, he said. Misori warned that the 8-4-4 system had been overtaken by 21st century life needs and should be dispensed with if Kenya has to keep abreast with technological changes.
He argued that technological advancement rendered it ineffective and it could no longer compete on international grounds.
Sossion said education would be disrupted if the ministry went ahead with the implementation. A similar problem was witnessed in 1984 when the 8-4-4 system was introduced, he said.
Former ministry boss Fred Matiang’i first brought the CBC to public attention. Despite an elaborate blueprint on how it would fix the 8-4-4 problems, union officials say its success was tied to heavy investment.
Misori cited programme overload resulting from its interactive nature but praised its structure.