Opinion: Parents, four is the appropriate age for that school uniform

One of the key changes in the new curriculum being piloted nationally is the requirement that parents enroll their children for school when they reach four years as opposed to three, as is the case at the moment.

Integration of Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE), which has been a separate entity, into primary school education is also an adjustment that will improve quality.

Pre-school education is very critical. If you do not provide the right foundation for a child by the age of five, then an opportunity is lost hence the need for an education system that emphasises ECDE.

The Basic Education Curriculum Framework (BECF) that is the blueprint for the ongoing curriculum reforms points out that research and global trends have demonstrated that the most appropriate age to start formal education is four years.

At this age, the learners will qualify for Pre-Primary One admission and thereafter transition to Pre-Primary Two, according to BECF. Parents will however be free to take their children to day-care centres where they will be facilitated to play, eat and sleep rather than be introduced to reading numbers and letters.

But there has been hue and cry over the requirement in the new curriculum to delay formal enrolment in schools despite it being a cost-effective and sound measure.

Parents argue that they want their children in school early to enable them to concentrate in formal jobs and business. They feel the children are safer and more comfortable with teachers than house helps.

ENGAGE TUTORS

As Family Life Ministry Navigators Africa Director Stanley Mukolwe put it, a child is spending two ‘tired’ hours with parents who leave the house early and return late, and 12 wakeful hours with house helps.

The latter are the ones influencing children’s behaviour. Children are suffering from low esteem because their parents never appreciate what they do. The provision of a holistic education is not the sole responsibility of schools and teachers. Parents too have a crucial role.

The trend has extended to holidays, when parents prefer holiday tuition to ‘keep the children busy’ to letting them while away the time playing. The Government ban on extra tuition has been ignored as some parents continue to secretly engage tutors.

During a needs-assessment study on ECDE, primary and secondary school education, including special needs education, concerns that learners were being subjected to more than their scope of understanding emerged.

This explains why a child might be denied admission in some schools - on grounds that the class has covered a lot of the syllabus and the newcomer might not cope. In others, learners joining ECDE are subjected to interviews before being admitted. This is unnecessary punishment.

According to the new curriculum, early years education ends after lower primary school, which covers grades one to three and ages six, seven and eight years respectively. The focus at this level is on nurturing the foundational skills of numeracy, literacy and life skills.

The Basic Education Act 2013 and Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development Act 2013 provide for a curriculum review every five years. The Government takes cognisance of the fact that such a review is overdue since the last reforms in Kenya were in 1985 and a subsequent review in 2002.

SECTOR PLANS

A comprehensive roadmap for curriculum reform must adhere to the Constitution, Basic Education Act 2013, Sessional Paper No 14 of 2012, East African Community Common Market Protocol and National Education Sector Plan, besides providing for a seamless transition from one level to the other for all learners.

A Government-appointed committee on curriculum reforms observed that among the East African Community countries, only Kenyan children spend several years in primary school and less in secondary.

Globally, countries focus more on shorter periods of elementary education to learn foundational skills. This explains the reasoning behind the two years of pre-primary and six years of primary school education.

Therefore, whereas it is true that a curriculum can be reformed without changing the system, the proposal to switch from the 8-4-4 to the 2-6-3-3 education system is informed by national and global experiences.

A differentiated learning approach as captured in the Competency Based Curriculum provides an opportunity for teachers to individually reach out to weak students. It is not about competition against each other in class but quality learning.