• Magoha said CBC, among other reasons, is meant to cure examination cheating.
• ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi and Ford Kenya's Moses Wetang'ula have been on the frontline in pledging the scrapping of the system.
Image: GEORGE OWITI
Education CS George Magoha has said Competency-Based Curriculum is here to stay and that nobody will take Kenyan children back to the 8 – 4 – 4 system.
Magoha said CBC, among other reasons, is meant to cure examination cheating.
In a direct attack at CBC critics, Magoha maintained that the curriculum won't be reverted.
This comes days after the Kenya Kwanza Alliance team led by Deputy President William Ruto pledged to scrap the system if elected into office.
ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi and Ford Kenya's Moses Wetang'ula have been on the frontline in pledging to eliminate the system.
“Nobody is going to dare, no matter who he is, to take our children back.
'You may bark out there, but you aren’t going to take our children back to a standard one to start preparing for KCPE. Mothers aren’t going to allow you. Who do you think you are? Tell me,” Magoha said.
The CS addressed the press at St. Mary’s Mukunike secondary school in Kangundo, Machakos County where he commissioned a CBC classroom constructed by the Ministry of Education on Wednesday.
The CS said CBC shall be domiciled in secondary schools while some in primary schools.
“We have about 1, 500 primary schools and we have put all of them in GIS. 1500 schools have such excess capacity that will be wise for the government to make them junior secondary schools while the rest will be high schools,” Magoha said.
He said they, as a ministry, made the decision after wide consultations to consolidate schools and make sure that each has less than 30 learners.
By so doing, Magoha said examination centres will be reduced by 643 nationally.
He said if the consolidation strategy is fully achieved, the number of security officers being deployed in examination centres will also reduce.
In terms of the national examinations, Magoha said they are ready.
“Some of the materials are already available. Security is even higher than before. What we are keen on is those involved with the printing of the papers should be honest with themselves,” Magoha said.
He also appealed to leaders to stop politicking over the education of Kenyan children.
“Integrity status of the nation is still wanting. Politicians should stop making too much noise. But, the government is curing this through a Competency-Based Curriculum.
"The way it is doing it, for example, those children who are going to grade six next year by that time 60 per cent of their assessment would already be in the system. So, their final exams will only be responsible for their 40 per cent.”
He said the government was constructing 6,400 CBC classrooms in public schools across the country to accommodate the program.
“We are verifying the projects. We are putting up 6,400 classrooms, which marks the first face of the order by President Uhuru Kenyatta that we construct classrooms for CBC in preparation for January next year,” Magoha said.
“We intend to be done with them before the expiry of this government which by the grace of God may be September, October, November or December depending on what happens during the political transition,” Magoha said.
He said over 700 classrooms were already completed, translating to over 10 per cent of the project while less than 100 classrooms’ constructions had not started.
About 2,000 classrooms according to the CS are at the roofing level, while the rest are at walling levels
Edited by B.Marita