Ruto Vows to Address CBC’s Challenges
President William Ruto will convene an Education Reform Taskforce to evaluate the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
In his inauguration address on Tuesday, Kenya’s fifth president pledged to ensure that the Taskforce encourages public involvement to streamline the implementation of CBC’s most important concerns.
Education, namely the implementation of the CBC curriculum, is the subject of a vigorous national dialogue.
“We will establish an Education Reform Taskforce in the Presidency which will be launched in the coming weeks.
"It will collect views from all key players in line with the constitutional demand of public participation.
"We are particularly alive to the anxieties of parents on the twin transitions of the last 8-4-4 class and the first CBC class in January next year. I assure that there will be a solution to the matter before then.” Ruto stated
During his campaign, President Ruto pledged to evaluate the effectiveness of the CBC program.
President William Ruto has committed to making substantial revisions to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) to ease the concerns of parents who continue to harbor skepticism regarding the curriculum.
As of now, the first CBC class is scheduled to transition to Junior High School (JSS) in January 2023, but former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration was not as successful in establishing critical infrastructures, such as dormitories and laboratories, that would have aided in the transition above.
Before leaving office, Kenyatta’s administration could only commission the construction of at least two classrooms in each school.
The classrooms were prepared for the January 2023 first-class enrollment at JSS.
Concerns have been expressed over the applicability of the new CBC curriculum due to staff shortages, teachers’ lack of preparation, and curriculum-related misunderstandings.
“We will undertake a review of the CBC system so that the issues identified by teachers, parents and other stakeholders can be subjected to robust public conversation, so that we can finally have a conversation that will lead us to ironing out areas that are in contestation and we can have education system that serves our children and our requirements for the future,” he said
President Ruto announced on Tuesday, mere seconds after taking the oath of office, that his administration will establish a committee to solve the abovementioned obstacles surrounding the CBC transition.
In the days leading up to the August 9th General Election, the President pledged to address the current labor shortage in the Education Ministry by claiming that he would appoint 116,000 tutors to supplement the country’s currently available teachers.
As a result, all eyes will be on the Kenya Kwanza government as students, parents, and relevant stakeholders await next year.
Ruto Vows to Address CBC’s Challenges