Former Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) SG Hon. Wilson Sossion has warned that the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC)is going to exacerbate inequality.
Sossion said public schools will never deliver CBC considering the state of infrastructure in those schools.
“Look at our classrooms, in our public schools, we’ve not reconfigured because there are two things you must do to be able to deliver CBC.” Sossion said.
Sossion noted that one of the key factors the government ought to do is to invest in teacher training and deployment to the extent that the teacher-pupil ratio, should be able to deliver CBC.He says the new education system that originated from the US that was focusing on children of rich families has picked very well in Finland
“For a teacher to deliver teaching in Finland, you must be trained up to a minimum master’s level. And you must conduct classroom observation for six months before you are allowed to begin teaching.” He noted
The ODM nominated Member of Parliament stated that what has been done in Kenya is not CBC delivery noting that teachers have not received training.
Sossion said no teacher is competent enough to deliver CBC in the manner that it is supposed to be delivered.
“Nobody, even Magoha is not telling us which country they are benchmarking with and working with to be able to deliver this curriculum, and knowing that majority of our teachers are not educated to the level of masters.” Said Sossion.
The UDA affiliated MP said that South Africa gave it a shot and at some point, teachers admitted openly that they could not deliver the system. They boycotted it and returned to outcome-based curriculum teaching.
For CBC to work in Kenya, the MP suggests that the Ministry reduce the class sizes in public schools to less than 20 learners in every learning lesson.
He gave an example of Olympics Primary School in Kibera with the largest classrooms, with over 70-80 students per lesson.
In public schools, he says this is the real scenario with one overworked teacher who is unable to provide the necessary assessments at the end of the lesson.
“There has never been CBC in our classrooms, it is a fraudulent curriculum. One can’t bring an inferior education system to replace a strong education system.
The teachers have not been trained to carry out CBC system.” He said.This comes days after Prof. George Magoha, Cabinet Secretary for Education, chastised Kenya Kwanza Alliance leaders who have consistently attacked and opposed the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
Magoha stated that CBC should not be politicized and insisted that the system is here to stay. He urged critics to offer suggestions to help strengthen the system.
“The government of Kenya has invested heavily in this system and there is no way we can just do away with it just because some people are not happy about it.
Forget about politics, I don’t entertain politics because President Uhuru Kenyatta did not appoint me to do politics” Magoha said.
He warned politicians who will take office after the August 9 election not to meddle with education. Magoha revealed that the government has secured 230,000 teachers for junior secondary school students through his ministry.
“As a professor, I can tell you, this system will cure corruption of cheating because there is no need for cheating and rigging in exams. The system is all about learners’ competence,” he added.
Over 230,000 teachers have been trained on CBC. According to Magoha, teacher training colleges and universities have aligned their curricula with the CBC.
