Kuppet Uasin Gishu Executive Secretary Elijah Maiyo.

Uasin Gishu Kuppet Official Welcomes Government’s New Directive on CBC

The government’s latest directive on Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) implementation has received the backing of teachers’ union officials in Uasin Gishu County.

On Thursday, State House announced that Junior Secondary Schools will be domiciled in existing primary schools, ending speculations of where the Grade 7 learners will be proceeding to.

The decision has now been welcomed by the Kenya Union of Post Primary School Education Teachers (KUPPET) Uasin Gishu Executive Secretary Elijah Kimeli Maiyo.

In an interview with Uasin Gishu News on December 2, 2022, Maiyo said the government made the right decision.

We are happy and satisfied with the directive concerning the way forward of CBC implementation. I have been among those that have championed for the government to provide universal education up to grade 9,” Maiyo said.

Kuppet Uasin Gishu branch executive secretary Elijah Maiyo at a past event.

The Kuppet official argues that with the junior secondary schools domiciled in primary schools, it simply means there will be no extra expenses on a parent – unlike the case had the learners had to proceed to secondary schools.

Wastage of resources

But even as he welcomed the new directive, the Uasin Gishu KUPPET Executive Secretary says government officials who allowed billions of funds to be invested in an education system that had not been conclusively agreed on the need to be put to account.

The government had already constructed over 10,000 CBC classrooms in readiness for the transition as well as teachers trained.

Further, it is only recently that the Grade 6 learners sat for the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) which was to be used for their placement to junior secondary.

But in the latest directive, the government said all the learners will proceed to grade 7, irrespective of their performance in the assessment.

Pupils at Anointed Academy engage in an interactive class session on September 23, 2021, under the Competency Based Curriculum, CBC. Photo/The Star.

I am only disappointed that a lot of government resources have gone into infrastructure development which was misdirected to secondary schools,” Maiyo said.

Action should be taken against people that committed government funds to wastage without consideration of all that structures,” he added.

Administration

While education stakeholders welcome the new changes to CBC, there is another issue that the KUPPET official notes need to be addressed – junior secondary school administration and teachers.

Maiyo argues that being a junior secondary school, the government will need to set up its own administration, away from the one that exists at the primary schools.

We need a new administration for the junior secondary school from the principal, and deputy principal among others,” he noted.

The government has already said it will employ an additional 30,000 teachers by January 2023.

However, it did not indicate whether there will be an administration for the junior secondary schools or not.

Changes to the CBC system were announced after President William Ruto received an interim report from a task force formed to collect public views on education reforms.

The task force has until March 2023 to give its final recommendations.

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