Wanjigi wants education system protected by law

Jimmy Wanjjigi an ODM Presidential Candidate addresses congregants at Gikoye A.I.P.CA Church in Kiharu, Murang'a. [Kibata Kihu, Standard]

Businessman Jimi Wanjigi wants the Kenyan education system to be entrenched in the Constitution so that any amendment is subject to a referendum.

Wanjigi slammed the government for changing the education curriculum without public participation saying the matter was of great importance and should not be left to government officials. 

He claimed that the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) is far much below the standards of the performance-based curriculum and government should reconsider it. 

Speaking at Gikoe Primary School during the burial of Eliud Muraya Kamau father to Dr Francis Kamau who is the Economic Advisor to President Uhuru Kenyatta, the ODM presidential aspirant said Kenya should borrow a leaf from the America system of education.

He noted that America's constitution provides that whenever the government wants to change the system of education, a referendum must be conducted. 

"We must uphold an education curriculum that promotes self-reliance and widens the range of employment potential for graduates from both primary and secondary level. That can't be CBC," Wanjigi said. 

He said the 7-4-2-3 system of education 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 and the 8-4-4 system are what the country needed for the younger generation. 

The businessman's remarks come after a petitioner moved to court seeking to stop the implementation of CBC over claims that proper consultations was not done before it was rolled out. 

Lawyer Esther Ang’awa, argued that the implementation of the new curriculum will harm the future of the children because teachers were ill-prepared for the rollout.

Ang’awa said CBC has imposed an economic burden on children, teachers, parents and caregivers citing instances of procuring course books, learning materials and curriculum designs 'without regard to the real dynamics of the Kenyan population and the needs of the society'

The national rollout of the CBC started in January 2019 at pre-Primary I and II and Grades 1, 2 and 3 in lower primary.