Residents of Mandera have urged President William Ruto to do away with the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC), citing that the system is too expensive.
While speaking at a public forum organised by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform on Tuesday, they urged the President to the country to the 8:4:4 system but continue improving CBC.
“CBC was a rushed programme that was forced on parents and teachers, but if given time and the input of stakeholders, it can help our society,” said Mohamed Issack.
According to Mohamed, the new education system has failed to take off in Mandera because of a teacher shortage.
“We don’t have enough teachers in our schools. The few we have are not even trained to teach CBC. How can Mandera be ranked with other counties that have the necessary sources for the same education system?” he posed.
The other factor that has made residents to reject the new curriculum is high cost of supporting CBC.
“All the assignments given to pupils in CBC involve buying materials for them to do either at home or at school. Most parents in Mandera are poor and we cannot afford this daily expenditure,” he said.
In addition, Ms Asli Alio described CBC as an education system for the rich and not for Mandera residents, a majority of whom he claimed are poor.
“My children have to move around in the neighbourhood looking for someone with an internet-enabled phone so that they can learn some things. I cannot afford the internet in my home and this is why I don’t want CBC,” she said.
He further urged the government to give teachers a better pay instead of changing the system.
“We need to start by looking at the welfare of teachers in terms of better pay and promotions and capacity building before anything else,” he said.
Public Fora
The hearing program commenced on Monday 31st October and will run through to November 11.
On Tuesday 1st, the teams visited Kwale, Taita Taveta, Marsabit, Nyandarua, Turkana, Kericho, Busia, Migori, Mandera and Samburu counties.