The debate on whether to domicile Grade 9 in primary or secondary school is insincere and misleading.
The Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms gathered the views of education stakeholders and the public on the matter. When the PWPER released its report late last year, 2023, it was recommended that junior school, which comprises Grades 7, 8 and 9, be domiciled in primary school.
This recommendation was positively received by all quarters, among them unions which are now igniting this debate. What has changed? The report was informed by a lot of factors, including the tender age of the learners, the learning environment, parental guidance and the realisation of the goals of the Competency Based Curriculum.
The curriculum is also guided by the National Goals of Education with practical learning experiences that are learner-centred.
The structure of the CBC as captured in its implementation blueprint, the Basic Education Curriculum Framework 2017, went through a participatory process and eventually endorsed by the government. It is 2-6-3-3-3.
What this means is that we have two years of pre-primary, six years of primary, three years of junior school and three years of senior school under Basic Education. We then have another three years in tertiary education.
The Sessional Paper No 1 of 2019 also provided for the same education structure. These are documents in the public domain and anyone can access them to know what informs such thinking.
Education is considered a comprehensive provision of environment, opportunity, experiences and resources for nurturing a person’s life and roles as a member of the immediate and wider society.
Secondary schools, as they wait to receive the pioneer CBC learners in January 2026, should focus their energy and resources on ensuring that what the curriculum was intended to achieve at this level is achieved.
The reality on the ground is that for the government to successfully implement CBC, a lot of resources are needed. School infrastructure needs to be enhanced and high schools in terms of the three pathways, and teachers have to be employed and retooled for effective curriculum implementation.
Therefore, instead of wasting energy on things that were ironed out, let us focus on how to make the implementation of CBC a success. The private sector can join the government in bridging the gaps. This can only happen when education stakeholders are speaking with one voice and exploring ways of fixing the gaps.
The phase-in phase-out rollout of CBC is in Grade 8. At the end of 2025, CBC pioneer learners will exit junior school and join senior school in Grade 10 for another three years, under the basic education structure.