Various CBC changes proposed by Education taskforce

Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu. [File, Standard]

An education task force has recommended that Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) be domiciled in the current primary schools, in a report presented to President William Ruto on Tuesday, August 1.

The task force, gazetted on September 30, 2022, was tasked with giving direction on a number of issues in the education sector, to improve policies and strategies.

In the report presented at Statehouse on Tuesday, the task force has recommended an appropriate structure to implement the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).

“Develop guidelines on the management of Pre-Primary to Grade 9 as a comprehensive school. That Education Ministry establishes a comprehensive school system where all levels of learning from Pre-Primary to Grade 9 are managed as one institution headed by Head of Institution,” the report read.

Another recommendation was to have the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) provide career progression guidelines for teachers in comprehensive schools, and provide guidelines on alternative provision of basic education and training.

The task force has also tasked the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) to reduce the number of subjects covered in Junior Secondary Schools from 14 to 9.

The report further proposes that learners in pre-primary (kindergarten) should not take more than five subjects, those in the lower primary not more than seven, and those in upper primary not more than eight subjects.

It further proposes that students in junior secondary should not pursue more than nine subjects and senior secondary school students, not take more than seven subjects.

The Ministry of Education has also been discouraged from categorizing secondary schools in different cadres like national, extra-county, county, and others.

Instead, the task force wants schools categorised based on career paths such as social sciences, and arts among others. The task force says this is to enhance equity and inclusion.

The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) has been tasked with coming up with a structure to monitor CBC learners’ progress not for placement but for feedback.