By Azael Masese
A report on the proposed new education system and which is set to be rolled out from 2019 will be ready by August this year.
The report is based on findings and insights of the second phase of the national piloting of the much anticipated Competence Based Curriculum (CBC).
Once ready, it provides a road map on the implementation of the new education system, which will shift from the current 8-4-4 system to the 2-6-3-3-3.
Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) expressed optimism that the report captures all the required aspects as envisioned in the ongoing education reforms.
Ms Jacqueline Onyango, a senior director in charge of curriculum services said they have involved all the relevant stakeholders in the process hence.
“We have covered all the phases, contacted all the people they needed besides having the right people around them to guide the process and the report is successful,” she said.
Speaking during the launch of Teacher’s Companion, a resource book by the Oxford University Press East Africa, the director underscored the role of partnership in the process.
Under the new education reforms, she noted that society is looking for people who will think outside the box, are creative, innovative, and can adapt to different situations.
“The new curriculum is seeking to offer each one of us an opportunity in life, besides academics. Though academics are the basis of knowledge, there are so many things one can do in life,” she noted.
Under the new curriculum, parents and guardians are expected to play a critical role to enhance the acquisition of skills for learners.
Parents must play their particular role as the learners will be given homework that requires that they, for example, observe the sky and tell something about it.
She regretted that over the years, society has relegated education to what it should not be and that is passing examinations hence the need to go back to reality.
It is phased as follows: two years of pre-school, six years of primary school, six years of high school, and three years of tertiary education (2-6-6-3).
In its naming system, classes will henceforth be referred to as grades rather than standards as is currently the case.
The actual implementation next year will cover pre-school up to Standard Four and move progressively up the system, with the pioneering students completing high school in 2027.
