This archive report was first published on 21 June 2021.
Kenya's Secondary Schools Unprepared for Competency-Based Curriculum ¶
As the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) implementation looms, Kenyan secondary schools are facing a daunting task. With only one-and-half years before the pioneer CBC class joins junior secondary, schools are scrambling to prepare for the transition.
According to the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (Kessha), the current congestion in secondary schools will reach crisis levels unless urgent measures are taken. The chair of Kessha, Kahi Indimuli, has warned that the infrastructure in secondary schools needs to be expanded by 2023 to accommodate the double intake of students.
Under the CBC, learners will enter secondary school after Grade 6 and will be relatively younger than in the current situation when they join after Standard 8. Junior secondary will comprise Grade 7, 8, and 9, after which learners will join senior secondary (Grade 10, 11, and 12).
The extra two classes in secondary will require that schools invest in more classrooms and for boarding schools, more dormitories. However, the Ministry of Education has allocated only Sh1 billion for the next financial year, which will mostly be spent on training of teachers.
The situation will be compounded by the double intake in January 2023 as the last 8-4-4 class will be joining Form One at the same time, resulting in congestion. A check with principals confirmed that no extra infrastructure has been put up or commissioned to take care of the many students.
President Uhuru Kenyatta announced on February 2, 2021, that junior secondary schools will be domiciled in the current secondary schools, following a recommendation by the CBC task force. However, the implementation of the CBC has been marred by delays, with the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) lagging behind in the development of an assessment framework aligned to the CBC.
Despite the challenges, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) is on schedule with the development of curriculum content, having completed overseeing the development of learning materials for all classes in primary school.
