How competency-based learning will be crucial in nurturing self-reliance

Grade Three pupils of Victonell Academy, Nakuru, clean up a road as part of the learning process, yesterday. [Harun Wathari, Standard]

The Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) currently being implemented is one of the most radical attempts at reforming the education system in Kenya. Though not the first such effort, it marks a bold shift with its singular focus on how learners can apply the knowledge imparted to them in school, a departure from the largely exam-oriented approach of previous systems.

Starting with the Ominde Commission in 1963, there have been other major attempts at revamping the country’s education sector. The Ominde Commission led to introduction of the 7-4-2-3 system to replace the European-oriented colonial learning system. With time, however the 7-4-2-3 system came under intense criticism as being too academic and detached from the employment needs of society.