This archive report was first published on 5 September 2019.
Kenya's education system has undergone several radical reforms since the Ominde Commission in 1963. The latest attempt, the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), marks a bold shift from the largely exam-oriented approach of previous systems.
Starting with the Ominde Commission, there have been other major attempts at revamping the country's education sector. The Ominde Commission led to the introduction of the 7-4-2-3 system to replace the European-oriented colonial learning system. However, the 7-4-2-3 system came under intense criticism as being too academic and detached from the employment needs of society.
As the Gachathi Report of 1976 noted, “The problem (of unemployment) is aggravated by annual outputs of school leavers whose numbers continue to swell following the enormous expansion of education.” A new learning curriculum was required, one that was attuned to the country's ever-evolving social and economic needs.
The 8-4-4 system was introduced in the mid-Eighties, seeking to redress the weaknesses of the 7-4-2-3 by producing learners capable of pursuing opportunities in entrepreneurship and the informal sector. However, the 8-4-4 system was strongly faulted for being too cumbersome and expensive for teachers and learners.
Despite several task forces formed to reform it, 8-4-4 lingered on for three decades, with disastrous results if the high numbers of unemployed and unemployable school graduates seen today are anything to go by.
The Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), introduced in 2016, aims to reverse this situation. It meets the aspirations of Kenyans as espoused in the National Goals of Education. CBC was the result of a series of studies, notably a needs assessment review conducted by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development in 2016.
At the core of CBC is equipping the learner with the ability to apply knowledge, skills, and values taught in our schools. It is therefore a learner-centered system geared to improve the ability of students to use what they have learnt in school to solve life problems.
Unlike previous learning systems, CBC is not just about what the student knows but also what they are capable of doing with what they have learnt in school for personal growth and national development. CBC also focuses on principles of diversity and inclusion by ensuring that learners' individual needs are addressed through individualized education programs (IEPs).
Other than citizenship, other valuable competencies under the new curriculum include communication, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and digital literacy. These 21st-century skills are all geared to enhancing the ability of learners to engage in pursuits like entrepreneurship as well as social and technological innovation.
The transformative impact of CBC on present and future generations in this country is what matters.
