The Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA) chairperson, Mutheu Kasanga has expressed concerns that some private schools are using CBC to fleece parents and guardians.
She noted that some private schools have made extreme and wild interpretations of what the new curriculum requires as they demand a long list of books and stationery that a learner should take to school at the beginning of every term.
Parents have recently expressed concern about the CBC, saying it has tremendously increased the cost of education for them.
“We are seeing schools doing extreme interpretations of what the new curriculum needs. Some of the items in the list given by schools to parents are unnecessary. And we have seen that these issues have started this year,” Ms Kasanga stated.
She noted that some booksellers are colluding with some school leaders to make sure their books are on the list for commercial purposes and not for learning.
She added that this was done without the knowledge of the school principals as she warned private schools against such acts.
“We contacted a few schools who we had seen had gone overboard with their lists of books and asked the school principals to at least strike off a few. These are issues that we are addressing,” she stated.
Kasanga stressed that most private schools have gone to the extent of asking students to come with a ream of printing paper and chalk, among other things.
These are items that should be in the school budget, under stationery.
“I know of a school that asked each student to come with a ream of printing papers and other items. If one class has a minimum of 25 students and they each bring a ream of printing papers. What is a school going to do with all these printing papers? I think parents should also interrogate some of these things and should not just blindly accept everything a school tells them to do,” Kasanga stated.
She added that the ministry was still engaging with stakeholders in order to make the curriculum comfortable.
“Somehow we are caught between a rock and a hard place. For the 8-4-4 curriculum, you would find five subjects in one workbook but now each subject has its workbook. The good thing is that we are in talks with the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development. We also keep on reminding section heads to know that we exist in the same (economic) environment with the parents,” Kasanga added.
