Wanjigi Wants Education System Enshrined In Constitution
Jimi Wanjigi, a businessman, wants the Kenyan education system to be enshrined in the Constitution so that any changes require a referendum.
Wanjigi slammed the government for changing the education curriculum without public consultation, claiming that the issue was critical and should not be left to government officials.
He claimed that the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) falls far short of the performance-based curriculum standards and that the government should reconsider it.
Speaking at Gikoe Primary School during the burial of Eliud Muraya Kamau, father of Dr Francis Kamau, President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Economic Advisor, the ODM presidential aspirant said Kenya should take a leaf out of America’s education system.
He pointed out that the American constitution requires a referendum whenever the government wishes to change the educational system.
Wanjigi insisted that we must maintain an education curriculum that promotes self-sufficiency and broadens the range of employment opportunities for primary and secondary school graduates. He said that can’t be CBC.
He stated that the 7-4-2-3 education system, which provided for 7 years of primary education, 4 years of secondary education, 2 years of high school, and 3–5 years of university education, as well as the 8-4-4 system, were what the country required for the younger generation.
The businessman’s statements come after a petitioner filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the implementation of CBC due to claims that proper consultations were not conducted prior to its implementation.
Esther Ang’awa, a lawyer, argued that the implementation of the new curriculum would harm children’s futures because teachers were unprepared for it.
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CBC, according to Ang’awa, has imposed an economic burden on children, teachers, parents, and caregivers by procuring course books, learning materials, and curriculum designs “without regard to the real dynamics of the Kenyan population and the needs of society.”
The CBC’s national rollout began in January 2019 with pre-Primary I and II, as well as Grades 1, 2, and 3 in lower primary.
