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{
    "id": 1237922,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1237922/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 239,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mbeere North, DP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Ruku GK",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Act, 2012 to ensure that Junior Secondary Schools are established and operated in every primary school; and; (ii) develop a clear implementation framework for the Competency-Based Curriculum at Junior Secondary School level and provide for a funding plan for successful implementation of the Curriculum. Hon. Temporary Speaker, education is a vehicle for economic and social change. It is, therefore, important that any curriculum be constantly reviewed to keep abreast with the globalisation of the labour market and the demand for acquisition of the 21st Century skills. Many countries have shifted knowledge-based curricula to competency-based teaching and learning approaches. In Kenya, specifically, the 8-4-4 system was introduced in 1985, but over time, it became apparent that the system had noticeable faults and one of the main problems with the system was that it was very theoretical and with emphasis on passing examination rather than developing practical skills. It is against this background that the Government of Kenya introduced the CBC under the 2-6-3-3 system in 2017. The CBC approach to education aims at providing students with practical skills and the knowledge that they can apply in the real- world situation. It is designed to focus on developing competence of leaners in a broad sense than just theoretical knowledge. The system also aims at equipping learners with skills, knowledge, attitude and values that are relevant to the 21st Century. The new CBC specifically focuses on seven fundamental competencies namely: 1. Communication and co-operation 2. Creativity and imagination 3. Critical thinking and problem solving 4. Digital literacy 5. Citizenship 6. Learning to learn 7. Self-efficacy. Hon. Temporary Speaker, the start of 2023, the school calendar in Kenya, indeed, marked a very occasion with the first cohort of the CBC learners to adopt the new curriculum in 2017 entering Junior Secondary School (JSS) at Grade Seven. The implementation, however, has been met by a number of challenges and it is important that we give a critical look into some of these challenges. One of the challenges is inadequate infrastructure. I am sure almost every Member in this House does not have a laboratory for the JSS in any of the JSS in our constituencies. I am sure, at the same time, no Member has a workshop for JSS in any of the primary schools in our constituencies. Therefore, inadequate infrastructure can affect the implementation of this very critical and important curriculum. The infrastructure plan by the Government has not been able to address the big enrolment and transition from Grade Six of a total of 1,287,597 candidates who sat the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) for the first time in 2022. All these students are expected to join JSS, but they have been faced with insufficient classrooms, laboratories, stationery, workshops and libraries needed for the use by learners. This can limit the ability to learn and experiment which can affect academic performance adversely. Another challenge is inadequate teachers training. We realise that the teachers we have in our primary schools today were trained to teach the old curriculum. Most of them have not gone through the training conducted by the Ministry of Education in conjunction with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) so that they can handle CBC at the JSS level. The massive training and retraining of JSS teachers are a major problem in the Ministry of Education that must be urgently dealt with. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}