CBC Review Finally Begins as Magoha Bows to Pressure

Education CS George Magoha speaking during a press briefing on Wednesday, April 14
Education CS George Magoha speaking during a press briefing on Wednesday, April 14
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The Education Ministry under Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has bowed to pressure from parents and stakeholders and commenced the review of the Competency-Based- Curriculum (CBC). 

Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) CEO Dr Charles Ong'ondo, on Saturday, September 18, announced that they were out to address all challenges based on the feedback issued by critics and stakeholders. 

The first review process targetting pre-primary up to Grade 3 is already underway and was scheduled to be completed in early January 2022. 

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Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) CEO Dr Charles Ong'ondo
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"We have read and watched you. A curriculum is not fixed on stone. We are cognisant that after every cycle we are supposed to review. 

"Our review cycle comes next year as we finish Grade 6 and by 2023-2024, we believe that there are aspects of the curriculum that we shall have reviewed, not reformed," Ong'ondo addressed the press in Naivasha. 

The Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum Instruction and Education Media at Moi University added that KICD had acknowledged the challenges they were facing and that the recent coverage of the CBC highlighted grey areas they ought to quickly address. 

"You have jostled us into enhancing our public stakeholder's engagement. We shall engage parents from all over the country on Monday, September 27 and officials from Kenya Primary School Heads Teachers Association (KEPSHA) and Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) and Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT). 

"We shall also tour the interior or grassroots to meet parents other than inviting them to our consultative forum," Ong'ondo stated. 

His remarks came a few days after outgoing Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President, Nelson Havi, filed a suit against CS Magoha and his Interior Ministry colleague Fred Matiang'i over the implementation of the CBC model.  

Havi filed the petition on Friday, September 17 seeking to stop the government from continuing with the implementation of CBC and to have Chief Justice Martha Koome appoint a bench to determine the case. 

The Education CS, on Tuesday, September 14, castigated Havi and others who he alleged were out to destabilise reforms and were coercing parents into rejecting one of the key projects that will shape President Uhuru Kenyatta’s legacy. 

“What is it they are talking about claiming that we should fund the CBC? What they should do is challenge us to get the value for our money. When you open your mouth to rant and look like you never went to school.

“Why should you go to court when you have 5 million students happy and ready to engage with the course. It is true we have challenges, but why don't you front them so that we can discuss? We have no apologies to make to anybody. CBC is here to stay," Magoha reiterated. 

He added that parents were to blame for CBC being expensive as they enrolled students in private schools rather than public which are being regulated. 

Magoha ordered schools to halt demand for printing CBC content, stating that tutors should project the topics in the classroom. 

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Former LSK President Nelson Havi in court
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