Confusion reigns all over the place on this competence-based curriculum (CBC) issue. The media reports on it daily but hardly posing the questions that are bothering parents, teachers and other stakeholders in the education sector. There are difficult questions on CBC that many who are concerned about the new system of education either don’t have the opportunity to ask or won’t just raise.
As the government releases results of Grade 6 assessment of learners in the CBC, the same government is still grappling with how to effectively manage the transition of the learners into Junior Secondary School. Consider the story in Daily Nation of Tuesday, January 17, 2023, ‘Education CS outlines plan for junior high transition.’ Well, the learners are supposed to report to school in February but the government is still talking about plans.
The government is advising schools and parents on what to do right now? Isn’t it too late in the day to be hoping that some money from the National Government Constituency Development Fund may be used to build classes and laboratories in primary schools? Why is the decision on school uniform being made today? The government decided last year that JSS would be based in primary schools. So, why is the decision about school uniforms being made in 2023? Shouldn’t the hosting primary schools have been tasked with the decision on school uniforms last year?
There is an elephant in the room. How shall we deal with it? Money. First, there is the little matter of capitation. The media reports that the government will send primary schools with JSS Sh15,000 for each pupil. And that head teachers have been warned not to charge fees “unless in cases where the schools have boarding facilities” (DN Jan. 17, 2023). How serious is the government in issuing the warning against charging school fees? Just in case a school has boarding facilities, how much should it or is it allowed – by the government – to charge?
Second, the government is advising that schools hire “finance clerks to help them manage the finances” because the new capitation is more than 10 times the current capitation of Sh1,420. There are so many questions here. When will the clerks be employed? When will the money actually hit the school bank accounts (considering that there have been reports in the past of the money delaying for months)? What facilities will the new employees need? Who will employ them – the government or the school boards?
The media reports suggest that the government will soon be releasing guidelines on the “qualifications for members of the boards of management.” If JSS will be in session in a week’s time, when are these boards being constituted, and when will they start working? Considering that JSS is a completely new setup in the primary schools despite the enthusiasm by government officials – new system on its own even though it is domiciled within the same space as the primary school, new infrastructure, new learners, new teachers etcetera – how soon can it be activated and enabled to deliver on its mandate when the boards of management are yet to be established?
The media needs to ask so many questions about Kenya’s education system. After all, journalists are raised in the schools, from kindergarten to college. Asking questions about the foundational philosophy of the education system, the cost (to parents and the government), the value, output, relevance, relation to other systems in neighbouring countries, its future, among others, is really about helping the government and Kenyans to improve our education.
A good system of education is beneficial not just to the country but also to the region. Evidence shows that Kenya is the biggest producer of educated and trained manpower in the region. Kenyans provide a significant portion of highly qualified labour in all fields of economic production. Therefore, Kenya’s education system is integral to the economies of all the members of the East African Community.
Can Kenya really afford changing the system of education every 30 years? Is it cost-effective? Where do these changes place the country’s educated population regionally, continentally and globally? Kenyans should be asking these questions now – through the media – as the government prepares for senior secondary in three years time.
