Review Curriculum Hiccups

Two months down the road, the hastily implemented new education curriculum is deep in problems, thanks to a lack of reading materials.

At stake is the future of an entire generation of children whose education depends on the system and ultimately the supply of skilled labour force needed to secure the country’s future.

The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development says only one of the five accredited publishers has a printer while the rest rely on third parties.

About 235 schools are on the new curriculum that places emphasis on practical teaching rather than theory as was the 8-4-4 system.

Worst are reports that some pupils are being asked to download the books. Whereas this may work for schools with access to the internet, it brings to bear the important question of equity and fairness given that millions are located in remote areas without power or the internet.

It is even more absurd that the confusion is coming just two months after the Kenya National Union of Teachers warned of the dangers of hurriedly implementing the new system. The union said no research was done to prove that a competency-based curriculum is more effective than learning-outcome-based framework.

The current state of affairs calls for critical relook at the whole curriculum and a possible reverse to the old regime, if need be, until glaring issues are addressed.