CBC is Causing Harm to Teachers, Parents and Pupils – KNUT
Education professionals, public officials, parents, teachers’ union representatives, private school owners, and religious leaders have voiced their discontent with the introduction of CBC.
They have demanded an immediate assessment of the new system.
The task force, presided over by Professor Raphael Munavu, gathered opinions at the Tambach Teachers Training College in Elgeyo Marakwet County. Prof.
Thomas Cheruiyot, a professor at Moi University, opined that it was inappropriate for students entering junior secondary school to be enrolled in boarding institutions far from their parents.
Prof. Cheruiyot advocated that junior secondary schools be housed in elementary schools, arguing that students under 12 would have difficulty adjusting to life away from their parents.
“CBC overburdens parents who should not be responsible for completing homework. There is also a concern with CBC assessment when students are evaluated mostly through formative tests.
The formative evaluation should be worth 40%, and the summative assessment should be worth 60%,” he stated.
Teachers said they weren’t ready for CBC and that the system needed to be changed for it to work.
Teachers in Homa Bay said the government was to blame because it didn’t give them the infrastructure and training they needed to ensure the system worked well.
The Homa Bay branch of the Kenya National Union of Teachers has requested the suspension of CBC to allow for public engagement in its implementation.
Knut’s representative, Were, Patrick Were, opined that the CBC curriculum should not be scrapped.
The 8-4-4 system should be adjusted to accommodate the demands and evolving trends of the education sector.
“The outcome-based curriculum needs to be strengthened and modified to meet the needs and emerging trends in education going by the changes that are dynamic and taking place in Kenya today,” he said.
According to reports, secondary schools lack the readiness and capacity to accept Grade 6 students in junior secondary due to limited facilities.
“The CBC classrooms that were built for them have been taken over by Form 1 students in the 100 per cent transition programme. This means they have no extra classrooms to house the incoming children,” Were said.
The Presidential Working Group on Education Reforms presided over the gathering to collect curricular suggestions from the general population.
Various concerns were discussed during the meeting, including the infrastructure capacity of secondary schools to accommodate junior secondary, the readiness of teachers to handle incoming junior secondary students, the training of CBC instructors, and the transfer to junior secondary.
“The teachers at secondary level have not been adequately trained to unlearn the 8-4-4 system and learn and re-learn the CBC curriculum.
“This means the secondary schools have no preparedness to receive Grade 6 and hence the need to domicile grade 7, 8 and 9 in primary schools where the teachers have trained though not adequately,” Were said.
Prof. Collins Odote, who leads the CBC task force, facilitated a public engagement session at Homa Bay High School.
Prof. Collins Odote, the chairman of the forum who is also a member of the task force and team leader for the Nyanza component of the consultations, stated that the party was working on education reforms.
He stated that various difficulties had been highlighted by the public, with the transition being the most prevalent.
Prof. Odote stated, “There are a number of issues that have been raised, including the transition that children should be enrolled in elementary schools, the prices of O-levels from ECD to university, and the welfare and preparation of teachers.”
On occasion, CBC students stated that the curriculum presents a variety of obstacles, including a grading system that causes uncertainty for both parents and students.
They reported that some of their parents understood the meaning and context of ME (Meets Expectation), EE (Exceeds Expectation), and other essential terms.
For the success of the curriculum, the forum asked the government to invest in infrastructure and hire more instructors.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) stated that teachers were pressured to prevent them from exposing the government to the truth about when and how to adopt CBC.
Knut Secretary in the County of Homa Bay Patrick Were, Homa Bay Executive Secretary Cornel Ojuok, and his Rachuonyo Counterpart Eliud Ombori stated that a refusal to acknowledge the truth was to blame for the problems plaguing the curriculum’s implementation.
Teachers were threatened with expulsion whenever they attempted to speak 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 stated that CBC should be stopped after this academic year until President Ruto makes a final decision based on the results of the task committee.
“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.
The necessity that parents also play a direct role in educating their children is cited as one of the program’s flaws since “some parents never attended school.”
Participants also highlighted the cost of implementing CBC and poor infrastructure and teacher shortages as crucial obstacles to the curriculum’s implementation in public schools.
Representatives from secondary schools around the county stated that CBC should not be eliminated, as some have urged. They desire the elimination of ambiguity to facilitate the execution of the program.
In Elgeyo Marakwet, stakeholders reported that the curriculum lacked a clear path for students and was highly costly for parents.
Wisley Rotich, governor of Elgeyo Marakwet, stated that the CBC lacked a defined path for learners and requested that the task force establish such a path. “CBS is a costly service for parents.
He said a system of education should guarantee access to school, as it is a fundamental right.
Still, CBC has not shown to be a bridge that allows students from disadvantaged families to enter education.
Cleophas Lagat, former secretary of the Keiyo branch of Knut, stated that it would only be possible for the government to fund CBC if its structure was reevaluated to reflect the current economic climate.
He stated that the new method would require an additional 600,000 instructors and that it would demand tutors to pay special attention to their students.
“As a teacher, I perceive an issue at CBC due to inadequate public participation. Lagat stated, “I am requesting that the task force propose suspending the implementation of this new system for two years while stakeholders determine the optimal implementation strategy.”
The proprietors of private schools, led by Ishmael Chelanga and Christopher Cheboiboch, requested that the task force suggest funding for private schools to facilitate the adoption of the new curriculum.
Prof. Munavu stated that the Presidential Working Group, which began collecting opinions on Tuesday, had received “good ideas” from Kenyans.
“We are still gathering feedback and will begin composing our report once the nationwide exercise is complete,” he said.
In Migori, stakeholders demanded that the government increase funding for CBC.
The stakeholders expressed concern that CBC was too expensive and that teachers lacked adequate training.
The Kenya Primary School Heads Association chairman in Migori, Meshack Okech, shared the parents’ feelings and urged the government to purchase educational supplies.
Mr. Oketch stated, “The teaching and learning process is highly expensive, thus we rely on parents to provide learning materials.”
The Kenyan Council of Imams and Preachers (CIPK) encouraged the government to maintain the 8-4-4 system in Mombasa. Other stakeholders stated that the CBC required implementation in certain places.
The director of education at CIPK, Zainudin Mohamed, encouraged the government not to eliminate the 8-4-4 system and demanded education sector reforms.
Thursday, several education stakeholders went to Makueni Boys High to provide input to the Education Reforms Task Force.
The team led by Dr. Halima Saado sat quietly while the residents shared their opinions on the Competency-Based Curriculum implementation modifications.
Many were optimistic about ongoing schooling, stating that CBC is best suited for education and that the government must make it more user-friendly for students, teachers, and parents.
Governor of Makueni, Mutula Kilonzo Jr., stated that the new curriculum had a poor start, making it difficult for parents and leaders to comprehend its goal, and that it needed to be rebuilt.
“You can’t start a journey heading the wrong direction and end up in the right direction,” the governor said.
Since the government has decentralized education, he stated that monies should be directed to the education sector.
“I understand devolving any unit means resource allocation which is yet to be done for ECDE and TVET institutions for smooth running of the unit,”
“Education is the most disorganized department,” claimed the county administrator.
However, he stated that following the harmonization of ideas from throughout the nation, the implementation of Education at all levels should transform.
Kivutha Kibwana, a former governor of Makueni, asserted that the constitution’s educational regulations are explicit and must be obeyed to the letter.
John Kimeu, a citizen who advocated on behalf of the boda boda industry, stated that integrating the junior secondary into the existing high school could subject younger students to psychological suffering.
Yusuf Ibrahim from Makueni Boys stated that placing younger students alongside their seniors in secondary school will promote drug consumption since the younger students would be forced to sneak drugs in.
