Murkomen urges Magoha to consult more on new curriculum

More consultations should be done on the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum, Senate Majority leader Kipchumba Murkomen has said.

Murkomen said that the new curriculum should not be forced on stakeholders. According to him, the country needs a curriculum that addresses the challenges facing the youth.

The senator said learners take home piles of homework that require the input of parents, disadvantaging children whose parents are illiterate.

“How will these two groups of people become equal when they grow up? Even as a senator I find it very challenging and sometimes it feels like I am back in school.” 

Murkomen said that public participation is a constitutional requirement before government policies are implemented. It cannot be overlooked.

He said it was important for Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha to consult leaders, teachers and parents and agree on how the curriculum can be implemented to ensure that all learners benefit equally.

“We all agree that we must have a curriculum that is competency-based but we must also understand what competency-based education is and how it will be implemented.” 

His sentiments were echoed by Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro who claimed that the new curriculum is being forced on Kenyans like a drug.

“Magoha should relax. We know he is a firm leader but he should know that he cannot force a teacher to teach something in the classroom while he is in his office in Nairobi,” Nyoro said.

The two spoke during a prize-giving ceremony at Karingu Secondary School in Kiharu constituency on Friday as Magoha faced the Senate over the standoff between the Ministry and teachers on the implementation of the curriculum.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers, which has been opposed to the implementation of the CBC, is softening its position.

Magoha maintains that appropriate stakeholders’ consultations have been done and the implementation will not be backtracked.

The Teachers Service Commission has interdicted 280 teachers for resisting the new curriculum.