There have been many speculations about the suspension of the roll out of the new curriculum with some claiming that the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Amb. Amina Mohamed made the decision without consulting other stakeholders in the education sector.
The backlash against the CS has now ceased after it emerged that the decision to cancel the roll out was based on an interim report of external evaluators.
If the Education Ministry was aware of the loopholes in the new curriculum all along, why did they still push for it’s roll out in January next year even when they knew it wouldn’t be possible?
Take a loot at some of the gaps that have contributed to the suspension of the roll out of the 2-6-6-3 curriculum. The report was compiled by a government agency on curriculum review, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).
One of the reasons they gave was that teachers were not well prepared as some still struggled with the concept of the curriculum. The report also highlighted that most schools lacked the capacity that the new system demands while others did not have the required learning materials despite the two-year piloting.
Other challenges that were identified was that books were available in most private schools but a majority of public schools lacked the required books thus, the delivery of the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) was compromised. Additionally, only a few public schools had organized and bought text books for teachers.
Other loopholes in the CBC include the lack of collaboration among government agencies. The KICD recommended continuous in-service programmes to guide teachers on the requirements for the CBC and advised capacity building focused on assessment rubrics, pedagogy and inclusiveness.
The ministry and the KICD were also advised to ensure course books and teachers’ guides are availed to schools and teachers encouraged to use available teaching and learning materials.
Other recommendations were for schools to buy enough books for all students and for capacity building for civil society organisations and quality assurance and standards officers to enable them mentor and support teachers effectively.
Given that the Education CS Amina Mohamed already announced that the country is not ready for the new curriculum, it is still not clear what her final decision will be as members of international evaluation teams are expected to present their report to the Cabinet secretary on Monday.
“We are done with the report and we will be handing it over to Ms Mohamed at Jogoo House,” said a member of the team who did not want to be named.
The member declined to give any details of the report.
Do you think the CS will go back on her word?