NPA Faults Professors’ Dominance In CBC Taskforce Review, Wants Parents, Teachers Included
President William Ruto created a Presidential Working Group on Education Improvements last week, placing tertiary education people at the center of curriculum reforms.
The majority of the members are university lecturers and professors.
Prof. Raphael Munavu, former vice-chancellor of Moi University, presides over the 42-member, seven-secretary team. Dr. Halima Saado Abdilahi (Umma), Prof. Stephen Gitahi Kiama (University of Nairobi).
Others are Prof. Laila Abubakar (Technical University of Mombasa), Prof. Mutheu Kasanga (Lukenya University), and Prof. Paul Wainaina (Kenyatta University), who are among the serving VCs nominated to the team.
Prof. David, a former CEO of the Commission for University Education, and Prof. James Kanya, Dr. Ruto’s PhD advisor, are also members of the team.
A number of university professors were also selected for the panel tasked with providing clear direction for the implementation of the competency-based curriculum (CBC), which has encountered obstacles since its 2019 launch.
Notable in this regard is Dr. Ciriaka Gitonga, dean of the school of education at the University of Embu.
She presides over the Deans of Education Forum, which comprises all deans of education schools in public and private universities.
Tomorrow and Wednesday, it is expected to convene its third consultative forum in Embu.
The selections were made in response to a request by universities to be included on the review team, claiming that they were previously overlooked.
David Obuhatsa, the national chairman of the Kenya Parents Association, claimed that the involvement of persons in higher education would not provide the desired value to those in basic education.
“I reviewed the membership of the task group that was announced on September 30, but unfortunately none of our officials are included,” Obuhatsa said.
According to the gazette notification, Prof. Raphael Munavu’s task committee will, among other things, review the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
In addition to evaluating and recommending a suitable structure for implementing the CBC system, the task group has been entrusted with researching the laws governing the basic education subsector.
The notice also claimed that the task force will examine, evaluate, and make suggestions about conceptualizing and implementing the competency-based approach’s guiding principles.
According to the notification, this includes, but is not limited to, value-based education, community service learning, parental empowerment and participation, the assessment and examination framework, and the quality assurance and standards framework.
Eskimos Kobia, the general secretary of the National Parents Association, questioned how the task committee could meet the expectations of parents when the bulk of its members were professors.
David Obuhatsa, the national chairman, claimed that the involvement of persons in higher education would not provide the desired value to those in basic education.
After reviewing the membership of the task group that was announced on September 30, he regretted that none of the members were drawn from the parents’ association.
According to the gazette notification, Prof. Raphael Munavu’s task committee will, among other things, review the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
In addition to evaluating and recommending a suitable structure for implementing the CBC system, the task group has been entrusted with researching the laws governing the basic education subsector.
The notification also claimed that the task force will examine, evaluate, and make suggestions about conceptualizing and implementing the competency-based approach’s guiding principles.
This includes, but is not limited to, value-based education, community service learning, parental empowerment and participation, the assessment and examination framework, and the quality assurance and standards framework, according to the notification.
Eskimos Kobia, the general secretary of the National Parents Association, questioned how the task committee could meet the expectations of parents when the bulk of its members were professors.
“There were professors and vice chancellors inside the task team. What do they know about elementary school? "Let them handle difficulties plaguing postsecondary institutions and let elementary and secondary school instructors in charge of basic education matters,” added Kobia.
Obuhatsa observed that one of the task force’s primary terms of reference is parental empowerment and involvement, and he pondered how this could be accomplished without parental input.
On Sunday, during his visit to Homa Bay County, President William Ruto stated that the 42-member task committee will streamline the system to meet the needs of parents.
“I established a special task team to examine the CBC curriculum so that the curriculum can benefit our children and reduce the curriculum’s burden on parents,” he said.
Dr. Ruto added, “I hear parents are completing homework till 2 a.m., so we will lessen their homework load.”
The task team, to which seven secretaries have been assigned, will examine rules governing basic education and make recommendations for their revision.
It tries to address redundancy, ambiguity, efficiency, and limitations, and to strengthen connections.
Kobia urged Ruto to nominate at least two of the association’s officials to the task force, and he said that his staff will meet with parents’ representatives in two weeks to collect their feedback and make recommendations to the task force.
“We will make recommendations regarding CBC since, in our opinion, it was poorly conceived and also poorly implemented. This will only occur if our representatives are invited to join the committee, he explained.
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Kobia stated that the task force’s specified timeline is unrealistic.
Its suggestions will be published by April 2023, when KPSEA candidates are scheduled to take their examinations.
He stated that teachers do not know if they will be preparing students for the tests or if they will have to wait.
NPA Faults Professors’ Dominance In CBC Taskforce Review, Wants Parents, Teachers Included
