Ruto and new team rescued CBC from the 'dustbin', says Ong'ondo

Pupils at Fesbeth Academy-Kakamega washing clothes during a CBC assessment test that is being conducted by Knec on July 19, 2023. [Nathan Ochunge, Standard] President William Ruto saved the new curriculum, Competency Based Curriculum from persons keen to tear it apart, it has been revealed. Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) chief executive Charles Ong'ondo said putting up a working party saved the CBC. "The Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) that said about 80 per cent of Kenyans wanted CBC, even though they suggested a few things changed," said Prof Ong'ondo. He said in absence of the working party, CBC would have been torn apart as opposition to the curriculum was mounting. "...had it not been for his (President Ruto) intervention, there were many forces that had been trying to tear it apart," Prof Ong'ondo said. He was speaking during the ongoing African Curriculum Association Conference at KICD, in Nairobi yesterday. Prof Ong'ondo said CBC has survived is because Ruto was fully briefed about it when he was deputy president. "He believed in a curriculum that is flexible where a leaner has a future, one which has applications of knowledge and that which has values, which he practises himself as a scientist," said Prof Ong'ondo. He said after assuming office, some people giving views on CBC thought the Kenya Kwanza government was against the new curriculum. "But when the working party made its recommendations, they said 80 per cent of Kenyans wanted it and that what we need to do is fix some areas to make it responsive to the Kenyan situation," said Ong'ondo. He discussed multiple context in curriculum reforms process and how they need to be navigated. "We have had many commissions, taskforces and even presently we have one. In many cases, they give consistent information but at times they provide conflicting information on what needs to be done," said Prof Ong'ondo. He challenged educationists to provide tangible solutions to human capital formation required by students to meet the modern challenges facing society today. He noted that given a chance, people would not necessarily say they want to go to school and that's why it is incumbent upon teachers, governments and other stakeholders to identify the education needs of a people. "The journey towards educational and curriculum development is treacherous and there are many hurdles both human and infrastructural," said Ong'ondo, adding that globally, the most constant reality is need to continually reform the curricula of nations. He said the learner today must be equipped with knowledge that prepares one for the digital age and Artificial Intelligence taking root in every facet of life. "Curriculum change is inevitable as humans get confronted by multiple problems that require solutions and as generations emerge," he said. He praised the current CBC saying it is based on content as opposed to the length of time as in the previous ones such as the 8-4-4. Ghanaian Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum said their education system has embarked on a deliberate and elaborate strategy to make sure science and mathematics courses are enhanced in all levels of education. "A developing nation cannot mismatch education needs and transformation agenda because that is the only way of putting at bay poverty that is currently ravaging our people," he said. Presenters Dr Robert Kasisi, Roselyne Morema and Jacqueline Onyango lauded the CBC as a great way forward that disabuses the learners from expecting employment upon completing school but instead enables them to create employment and opportunities for themselves. ACA Secretary General Gertrude Namubiru from Uganda acknowledged that for education and curriculum reforms to take place, one must engage the very top in political leadership. "When we journeyed through changing our own curriculum it took the intervention of the Minister of Education who is also our First Lady to talk to Parliament before we made any reasonable gains in that direction," she said. Her compatriot Florence Kirabo of Kabale University in Uganda noted that such human conflicts as civil wars, repeated deadly floods, corruption and destruction of forests are as a result of an education system that fails to instil human values in learners and consequently in the entire society. Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu welcomed the delegates and praised the theme, 'Learning for Sustainable Futures- Connections Between Curriculum Cognition and Context' as timely for Kenya while it is implementing CBC. His speech was read on his behalf by Higher Education Principal Secretary Beatrice Inyangala and emphasised the need for education to keep tabs on the changing demands and needs of society.

Ruto and new team rescued CBC from the 'dustbin', says Ong'ondo

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