The CBC Implementation and Financial Realities
There is a long list of recommendations for the education sector in the report that the Presidential Working Group on Education Reforms submitted to President William Ruto.
Ongoing discussions are taking place to improve the sector, and it is encouraging to see the amount of effort that has gone into the working group.
However, the success of the initiative’s implementation will be the ultimate test.
In the coming months, there will be a lot of activity around reforms to the current laws, curriculum designs, teacher training, and deployment, as well as the creation of new curricula.
The report contains many recommendations for Junior High, Senior High, and universities, including modifications to financing models for university and TVET institutions.
There is a strong desire to equip educational institutions to provide learners with quality training. It is crucial that the required steps be taken to ensure that these ambitious plans are implemented in a logical manner.
A national endeavor that is now a reality. However, time is passing. The pioneer cohort of CBC will transition to the Senior Secondary School in just over two years.
Significant funding will be required to implement these initiatives successfully. Additional educator training or retraining, educational facilities, laboratories, libraries, and spaces for students to apply their theoretical knowledge will be necessary.
The report calls for the current secondary institutions to be reclassified as pathways. That sixty percent of them should be STEM centers, teaching Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
25% of them will instruct Social sciences, and 15% will instruct Arts and Sports Sciences.
It is evident that the government intends to transform 60 percent of students into STEM specialists. The desire to promote industrialization as the Kenyan economy changes is what drives this.
It is imperative that the required steps be taken to ensure that these ambitious plans are implemented in a logical manner. Obviously, because many initiatives have remained aspirational for many years.
Numerous students have graduated from the Kenyan education system without ever having used appropriate learning aids. So many expectations have been placed on students and the education system without corresponding funding.
Almost 30 percent of the fiscal budget is allocated to education, with more than half of that amount used to compensate the teaching staff.
And shortly, additional educators will be hired. More is required. More teacher training or retraining is required. How about educational facilities?
What do you think about laboratories? Science is learned in laboratories. In a laboratory, engineering is practiced. How about the library? And spaces for students to apply their theoretical knowledge?
Kenya has no chance of failing with this CBC implementation.
In 2029, the first cohort of CBC students will enroll in universities and TVET programs.
Kenyan has time to redesign higher education institutions. And while doing so, those involved must collectively consider the economy of Kenya.
Where will CBC graduates go once they have completed the CBC system? The unemployment rate is alarming and increasing daily.
As they undergo a distinct mode of instruction that builds competencies, we must simultaneously consider investing in opportunities that meet them at their level of proficiency.
Reforming an education system, throwing money at it, and compiling numerous consultative reports will not fulfill the dream of every human being, which is to realize their maximum potential, if this is not the case.
A child learns how to walk, communicate, and behave like an adult. It is the adults’ responsibility to clear the path for the CBC children to travel.
The CBC Implementation and Financial Realities
