Curriculum shift calls for further investment in quality of teaching

School heads and other officials at the launch of the pilot phase of the reformed curriculum last week in Nairobi. [Photo: Johah Onyango/Standard]

As in the old adage, ‘give a dog a bad name and hang him,’ the current basic education system in Kenya is in the process of being put on the chopping board, as it had been tagged as elitist, punitive to learners and had been blamed of transforming schools into exam factories.

Consequently, if all goes according to plan, the Ministry of Education will implement the new proposed curriculum that enters the pilot stage next week in all counties. CS Dr Fed Matiang’i has promised Kenyans a new academic dispensation in which no child will be labelled a failure at the end of basic education. In essence, the new curriculum is expected to reduce extreme pressure from students in primary and secondary education sectors and release innovative and creative genius of learners.