Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has expressed his views on the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC), referring to it as a commendable system that was poorly executed. He pointed out that the system has been met with both praise and criticism due to the lack of public participation during its rollout.
Gachagua emphasized that while CBC is a very good system, it was not adequately planned, and parents were not fully involved in the process. He called on the Kenya Kwanza Administration to establish a Presidential Working Party that would ensure deep public engagement in the education system. The DP shared his thoughts during an interview with vernacular media stations at his residence on Friday morning.
The Presidential Working Party on Education Reform has already submitted its interim report to President William Ruto. Gachagua assured the public that the capitation for Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) would be released soon to ensure that the CBC system runs effectively.
The team, led by Prof. Raphael Munavu, made various recommendations, including that JSS should be domiciled in existing primary schools. Additionally, the government should provide adequate resources and facilities for the implementation of the system, which some have described as costly.
During a recent parliamentary debate on the CBC issue, lawmakers expressed their concerns about the system’s teething issues. They called on the government to address these problems urgently, including the lack of necessary infrastructure. Some lawmakers even suggested scrapping CBC altogether and returning to the 8-4-4 system it replaced.