It's time for government to end guesswork on new curriculum

Education CS George Magoha. [Standard]

Two weeks ago, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced that Junior secondary would be domiciled in secondary school.

Further, based on the recommendations of the task force set up to iron out issues surrounding the new competency-based curriculum (CBC), the President also declared that Grade 6 pupils would not do examinations before transiting to Junior Secondary.

The proposals are aimed at clearing the fog of confusion surrounding implementation of the CBC. However, they appear to thicken the fog; raising more questions than answers.

The first question is, if there will be no examinations, how will students be picked for junior schools? It is likely the selection will be based on continuous assessment tests. But can we rely on marks assigned by teachers to decide who goes to Alliance High or to a backwater school? No, unless we have forgotten that it is the same teachers, in cahoots with parents, who do everything to ensure their students pass the national tests, including by buying exam papers.

Second, is placing Junior Secondary in secondary schools a bright idea? It doesn’t sound like. At the moment these schools are bursting at the seams due to the high number of students they have admitted as a result of the 100 per cent transition. They are struggling to build more classes and other facilities to accommodate the new learners. Secondary schools will be forced to expand their facilities further to house the junior students.

Meanwhile, primary schools, even the smallest ones, would have at least two vacant classes--the ones now accommodating classes six and seven.

Third, who will teach in Junior secondary? As the name suggests, these might be the secondary school teachers. If this is the case, what will happen to the excess teachers in primary schools; those who teach in classes six and seven?

The most rational thing would be to retain Junior Secondary in primary school. Here they would use the classes that would otherwise fall vacant. In addition, some primary teachers can be taken through training to enable them teach these students. This will save the taxpayer a lot of pain.

It is unfortunate that key decisions on a programme that has been on incubation for years are being made on the go. We cannot afford to make mistakes. If we do, we will surely ruin the future of an entire generation and our country as well. That’s why it is important for the Government to come up with a clear roadmap that majority of Kenyans can agree with and support.