By Tony Wafula
Webuye West Member of Parliament (MP) Dan Wanyama has promised to spearhead a motion to reject the report by the Working Party on Education Reforms once compiled and presented before the National Assembly.
Wanyama called for abolition of the Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) saying it had brought hard times upon parents amid the current economic turmoil.
“CBC has really put a burden on the parents. It seems this system of education was created in favor of the rich,” Wanyama said.
On training of teachers, Wanyama said that aged teachers cannot be strong-armed into returning to school to study CBC and how it should be implemented.
Elsewhere, stakeholders in Bungoma County led by Kibabii University Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof. Ipara Odeo argued that the CBC may take time to be accepted by Kenyans after politicians fought its introduction and vowed to scrap it.
Speaking at St. Theresa’s Sio Secondary school when they presented their views to the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms, Prof. Odeo said that politicians had already demonized CBC and Kenyans trusted them.
”In the just concluded elections, politicians fought the curriculum and depicted it to be one of the worst in the world and Kenyans took their utterances seriously. Thus Kenyans need a lot of awareness to accept the curriculum,” Odeo said.
The VC praised the new curriculum saying it only needed some expenses removed for the sake of the parents.
Students from Bungoma high school also praised the new curriculum saying it was out to tap talents from pupils.
Boniface Oluoch, a Bungoma High school student said CBC was good as it emphasized on nurturing talents and practical skills which come in handy in job creation.
”The curriculum should be embraced because it identifies learners’ talents and assists them to specialize in them,” he added.
The Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KESSHA) Bungoma chairman Robert Nabiswa said that they were not ready to receive Grade Six pupils due to shortage of infrastructure thus they asked the Ministry of Education to withhold the transition slated for January next year.
”We have no classes for the junior learners and also we have no teachers to teach them. Many schools don’t have enough classrooms for the existing students, what about when the junior ones come?” posed Nabiswa.
Nabiswa proposed that the Junior Secondary School students be changed to senior primary so that the pupils could continue with education in their respective schools.
”Instead of rushing these pupils to secondary let them proceed to senior primary then afterwards go to secondary,” he said.
