A lot of space has been dedicated to the competency-based curriculum, leading to some changes.
EDUCATION SYSTEMS
There is no perfect education system/curriculum. Just like there is no perfect constitution, no perfect marriage, no perfect human being and no perfect schools.
The 8-4-4 curriculum is as imperfect as the people allow it to be. And so will the CBC. And any other system you pick.
The trick is to always be innovating from within the given education system. And more, the trick is also focussing on the learners and not on the grades or resources. Any learner-centred curriculum will never go wrong.
The IB/IGCSE/ACE/Montessori/IPC/8-4-4/CBC...All these are just brand names. It is what you make out of it that really matters. How many 8-4-4 graduates are stellar performers globally? And how many IGCSE/IB graduates are flops globally?
It is and will never be the system. Systems aside, a good teacher is a good teacher, and a bad teacher is a bad teacher.
TEXTBOOKS
Textbooks are a minor part of the curriculum. Their purpose is to guide not to take over. The 8-4-4 textbooks can be used to teach any curriculum, including CBC.
But textbooks are a publisher's gold mine and the publishers will go to all lengths to protect their turf.
The resurgence of self-published materials that do not need the approval of KICD has offered some challenges to the quality of resources.
DISHARMONY
There is a total disconnect between all those handling education in Kenya. The KICD should be backed by the research teams at the education departments of our universities, who need to establish model centres of excellence to try out their brilliant ideas.
Universities/Knec/MoE/TSC need a common approach towards delivering quality education.
TEACHER TRAINING
Following up on #4. All TTCs should be affiliated to universities and serve as the last year of an education degree, just like law school does and so does medicine. It can be the fourth year final stepping place.
Currently Teaching Practice, especially in degree courses, is uncoordinated and left at the mercy of the lecturers at the universities.
PARENTS
Stop panicking about the CBC vs 8-4-4 debate. Your children's path to "success" is much more complicated than the curriculum/publishing wars. Instead, be worried if your child lacks basic values such as industriousness, integrity, compassion, humility, passion, resilience, and grit. These will get you past any curriculum in the world.
And, never ever steal the exam for your child. Never!
TEACHERS
Look at the bigger picture. To borrow from my Indian friends, "Invest for your grandchildren". We owe our country and the world one huge favour, and that is investing in the future. Always remember that amongst your students is one who could be the president/CEO/drug lord.
EXAM CHEATS
The reason why 8-4-4 became unpopular was because of the exam cartels and cheats at the Kenya National Examinations Council. It will be a pity if we continue with this same backward and myopic trend that just shows that we are a country of shortcuts.
CBC and assessments have to be more subjective and not punitive.
COUNTY EXAMS
In this age of disruptive thinking, it is time for counties to start organising their own summative examinations, and some of these should be in the local languages to see if really English is the language of the elite.
So many great brains in the rural setups suffer as they struggle to master English and Kiswahili yet their language of fluency is not examinable.
GOVERNMENT
Time to delink education and politics. The KICD and Knec need to be given teeth. And time to make inclusive consultations about the far-reaching effects of directives. We cannot be a country of five-year plans that change when a new team comes in.
