Kenya as a country is at an advanced stage in the rollout of Competency Based Curriculum known as Curriculum Based Education.
The Ministry of Education (MoE) in conjunction with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) initiated retooling programme for its teachers since the curriculum was rolled out in lower classes.
Retooling is basically a process that is aimed at increasing professional knowledge and skills to teachers so that they meet expected standards during lesson delivery. This will impact positively on them in meeting and achieving the specific lesson outcomes. Retooling is also called staff development.
Since the rollout of the new curriculum, the MoE and TSC have been allocated funds to carry out retooling. The programme has been ongoing smoothly despite budget cuts that have always left the teachers demotivated at the end of the retooling exercise.
The most crucial aspect after retooling that both the MoE and TSC seem to give limited attention is monitoring of curriculum implementation. To date, there seem to be little and in most instances no budgetary provision for monitoring of curriculum implementation. The Commission has always retooled its field officers but failed to provide an ambient infrastructure that will bolster effective curriculum monitoring during its implementation.
Monitoring is an important component that should be seriously better given attention. Proper retooling of teachers and field officers coupled with effective monitoring of curriculum implementation will result in successful attainment of CBC mission and vision. To unearth my thinking that little attention has been given curriculum monitoring, let’s reflect on what’s happening in our schools as far as CBC implementation is concerned.
A cursory look at some of our schools will reveal to us that some teachers are still implementing 8-4-4 curriculum while claiming to have come out of learners being ranked, core values are not infused during the lessons, learning is not linked to home and assessment tools are still bought from exam sellers. This underscores the immense effort and financial input that the national government is making towards curriculum change.
To remedy this mess, the ministry and the teachers’ employer should make a budgetary provision for effective monitoring of the curriculum. The field officers should be facilitated so that they make visits to the schools regularly.
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There used to be motor cycles at each zone. Where are they? The special needs education officers who cover the whole sub county should be enabled to move and carry out assessment for both referral and placements. Teachers should always be trained on how to carry out assessments at school level as mass retooling isn’t enough.
It is time the MoE and TSC start focusing on monitoring of curriculum implementation. Otherwise this will continue making many parents and other stakeholders believe that the future of Kenyan education system is bleak.
By Joseph Kitur
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