Key stakeholders in the education sector meet Monday at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) in what could mark the beginning of the end for the 8-4-4 system.
Monday’s meeting could also sound the death knell for Standard Eight and Form Four national examinations, should the stakeholders propose that they be scrapped.
Parent representatives, teachers’ unions and members of the civil society will interrogate a curriculum review framework that forms the basis of reforms in the sector.
The meeting could culminate in a new curriculum, which could become operational in January 2018.
A complete overhaul of the curriculum was last implemented in 1985 when the country shifted from 7-4-2-3 to the current 8-4-4 system.
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KICD proposes radical reforms, arguing that the current curriculum is overloaded.
The meeting will discuss submissions on what children should be taught in primary and secondary schools; the number of subjects they should taught and how they should be examined.
The document titled: “The curriculum review framework: Transforming society through curriculum reforms” says that the current primary school curriculum is choked with too many subjects, leading to “non-mastery of foundational skills of literacy, numeracy and life skills”.
According to the document, once the reform process is complete, primary school children would only be taught content that is appropriate for their age. It also proposes that competency-based assessment be introduced in schools where the learners’ focus will be on application of skills and knowledge in real life rather than knowing answers.
De-emphasise examinations
Career pathways would also be introduced at secondary level in the far-reaching changes that seek to de-emphasise national examinations.
“Assessment shall be tailored to find out whether learners have achieved the prescribed competencies but not necessarily to compare them with their colleagues,” reads the brief seen by The Standard.
The document lays emphasis on a holistic development of the learner. “The reforms aim at decongesting the primary level curriculum to create more time for more holistic development of the learners. The upper primary school level shall be designed to provide opportunity for self-exploration to start identifying potential,” says the document.
The stakeholders will be taken through the curriculum reforms framework, the draft curriculum policy and the implementation road map. They will also make proposals, which must be captured in the reforms process.
Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i will preside over the deliberation ahead of the formal launch of the process by President Uhuru Kenyatta early next year. During this period, the public will be invited to give their views on the reform process and curriculum review instruments will also be piloted. A reform schedule seen by The Standard has tentatively set January 2018 as the date for the national roll-out of the new curriculum.
Unique abilities
The discussions will be conducted under the curriculum reform vision, “nurturing every learner’s potential”.
“The vision is anchored on the principle that every learner is born with unique abilities and potentials and the primary role of education is to identify such potential and nurture it for the benefit of the individual and the country,” reads the brief.
The document says the current education system does not favour learners who have the aptitude and abilities for tertiary education and training.
“This emphasis puts undue pressure on the learners to perform well in academics and study for a few careers at the university. Learners who fail to achieve such feat are considered failures,” it adds.
The brief further says that the proposed reform vision must value equity, diversity, opportunity and excellence for all learners.
“If the curriculum is conceptualised and designed to nurture every learner’s potential, this would not only make every learner engaged, but would also contribute to reduction of crime and the disengagement currently experienced among many youths in the country,” reads the brief.
The curriculum reforms calendar of activities prepared in November 2015 says the reforms process kicked off in 2013 when the needs assessment proposal was done and the instruments developed.
