Parents will participate in an annual Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) training programme should the government adopt the recommendations made by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform.
The task force led by Prof Raphael Munavu proposed the Ministry of Education and the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) to sensitize parents, caregivers, guardians and the community on their role in their children’s learning.
In the over 200-page report presented to President William Ruto on August 1, Munavu and the team emphasised that training was one of the major ways to ensure stakeholders are involved in implementing the CBC curriculum.
The CBC task force explained that grievances raised by parents informed the recommendation, as the majority of respondents argued that they weren't involved in their children's education.
"Views from the stakeholders also indicated that take-home assignments were overwhelmingly denying learners an opportunity to participate in other activities at home.
"It was also observed that parents perceived that teachers were demanding more items than required for learning," read the report in part.
Another change proposed by the task force was the enhancement of digital literacy of parents who are often required to guide their children on assignments. However, some parents complained that the assignments consumed their time.
President William Ruto, on Friday, December 2, lamented dedicating some time every evening to aid his daughter in completing her Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) assignments.
"As a parent, I have pressure from my daughter every evening who needs me to help in this and that assignment," the President disclosed while presiding over the swearing-in of Principal Secretaries (PS).
The task force thus wants parents to purchase digital devices and be trained on how to guide rather than assist learners in their homework.
"It was observed that most parents did not have digital devices like smartphones or access to the Internet to assist learners in searching for information online.
"We reported that the cost of downloading and printing learning materials was beyond the reach of many parents," the report highlighted.
