Education is not preparation for life, education is life itself. The best gift government can offer its young population is education with the purpose to transfer knowledge and skills with the objective of providing a platform for learners to educate themselves to become problem solvers.
Formal education in Kenya was started by missionaries. The education system has evolved slowly but steadily. In 1985, President Daniel arap Moi established the 8-4-4 system, which has been in operation for more than 37 years. It is, thus, high time we embraced change by adopting the Competency-Based Curriculum.
There is a lot of conversation around the transformation of the education system, with many parents finding it difficult to accept CBC. However, parents should stop complaining and try to look at the brighter side.
Given a chance, I believe, CBC will be the solution to most of the economic challenges Kenya is experiencing.
People should be ready and willing to change their mindset in regard to CBC. The 8-4-4 system is more of the teacher giving students what they need to know that they will be examined on.
Yes it has worked in the past but it does not conform to the needs of society in this era of digitalisation. CBC will go a long way to enhance creativity and talent development. Learners will be in a position to apply the skills and knowledge acquired in their daily life, thus, promoting self-employment.
The purpose of learning and acquiring knowledge should not be to memorise, but to understand a concept that one can interact and work with to solve life's problems.
The 8-4-4 system is more of memorising to pass exams and our lives are determined by the grades we get. This is where we get it all wrong because determining people's destinies using 50 questions out of a thousand things that one learnt is very minimal.
As a country, we are experiencing an influx of university graduates with no jobs. This means the challenge of unemployment can no longer be addressed by the 8-4-4 system of education.
The adoption of CBC will play a vital role in providing solutions to the unemployment crisis because learners will be all-rounded. It will turn the economy around by producing learners who are job creators rather than jobseekers
The government, through the Ministry of Education, should however fully support CBC implementation by providing adequate funds to make it a success. With all stakeholders engaged, we can change our education system to a far much better one. We have done it before, we can do it again.
Communication and Media student, Maseno University
