Teachers Issue CBC Demands to Ruto
Education stakeholders have made a new set of requests to President Wiliam Ruto in response to his mandate on Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) implementation.
Speaking to the press, the heads of the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) and the Private Schools Association encouraged the Head of State to reevaluate the fees charged to parents for the curriculum.
The national chairperson of KUPPET, Omboko Milemba, inferred that parents resisted the nationwide implementation of the CBC due to the new curriculum’s hidden expenses.
Parents had complained that, under the new curriculum, pupils were continuously expected to provide commodities such as rice and cooking equipment for interminable experiments, exacerbating the cost of living.
Milemba observed that the parents’ reluctance could be due to their worry about the hidden costs.
Akelo Misori, Secretary-General of KUPPET, also noted that the severe teacher shortage is a significant barrier to implementing the system.
He stated that the curriculum was highly dependent on teachers, even though the country has a teacher shortage of more than 114,000.
“We are aware that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) alone has decried the understaffing of our schools to the tune of 114,000 teachers in the year 2022. That is a figure that has been there before the transition from Grade 6 to Junior Secondary.
"We have a serious teacher gap dealing with the numbers. Dealing with the curriculum content, it may require some kind of review,” explained Misori.
On the other hand, Solomon Munene, the National Vice-Chairman of the Private Schools Association, pushed the President’s commitment to updating the training system for instructors to handle practical lessons.
He said there is a need to reevaluate the requirements of teachers to teach junior high school.
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In his inaugural address on Tuesday, September 13, President Ruto reassured parents that he would establish an education reform task team to oversee public engagement in the reform of the CBC rollout.
As the first batch of pupils moves to Junior Secondary School (JSS) in January 2023 and a nationwide test is scheduled for December, he sympathized with parents who are in limbo.
“Public participation is critical in this matter. I will establish an education reform task force in the presidency that will be launched in the coming weeks. The task force will be in line with the constitutional demands of public participation,” Ruto stated.
The task team will solicit opinions from all relevant parties and devise a solution to benefit the parents.
In addition, the President stated that his administration would try to facilitate a seamless transition from the 8-4-4 to the CBC.
Teachers Issue CBC Demands to Ruto
