As end of 8-4-4 looms, last KCSE will be done in 2025
Students at Moi Girl’s High School, Eldoret write a KCSE test in November this year. The last such test will be in 2025. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
The new curriculum, whose implementation starts in January, will take seven years to be fully rolled out.
It also replaces the current Standard One to Form Four with Grade 1 to Grade 12.
In 2021, the rollout will be for Grade 7, Grade 8 in 2022, and the last stage of junior secondary, Grade 9, in 2023.
Details of how Kenya’s new school curriculum will be implemented emerged on Sunday as select teachers prepared to meet for skills training today at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development in Nairobi.
The new curriculum, whose implementation starts in January, will take seven years to be fully rolled out. Developed to replace the discredited 8-4-4 system, it places emphasis on continuous assessment tests (CATs) over one-off examinations, for a long time criticised as being too mechanical and results-oriented.
It also replaces the current Standard One to Form Four with Grade 1 to Grade 12.
KICD director Julius Jwan, whose institution is spearheading the review, said even though the seven years are enough “for us to fully implement the new curriculum”, his team will “continue to take in inputs from stakeholders in order to make it effective”.
The institute has already vetted the books to be used for the new system, which will be implemented at various levels, starting with the early years — Pre-Primary 1 and 2, and Grade 1, 2 and 3.
GRADE 4
In 2019, the rollout will be in Grade 4 and 5, and training of teachers in those classes will be done next year; while in 2020 the rollout will be in Grade 6, “the end of primary education,” said Dr Jwan. Training for teachers for that group will be done in 2019.
In 2021, the rollout will be for Grade 7, Grade 8 in 2022, and the last stage of junior secondary, Grade 9, in 2023.
“At the end of this stage, there will be a national examination to help place the students in different pathways,” said Dr Jwan.
In 2024 KICD will roll out Grade 10, in 2025 Grade 11, and the last one, Grade 12, in 2026. This means the last Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam will be in 2025, with the candidates being those who are joining Standard Five in 2018.
Dr Jwan explained that national examinations are not being phased out as students in Grade 9 and 12 will have to write tests. However, national examination at Grade 6 will be eliminated, although there will be assessment in sample schools across the country.
TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS
Students in secondary school will specialise in the subjects they wish to pursue in tertiary institutions as the learning areas have been divided into three categories: arts and sports; social sciences; and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem).
Under sports, students will pursue sports, performing arts and visual arts, while social science options will be languages and literature, humanities and business studies. The Stem option will have pure and applied sciences, engineering and technical studies.
Dr Jwan explained that the ongoing training is only for teachers who will be involved in the launch next year. Monday, more than 3,300 curriculum support officers and champion teachers will start their one-week training before paving the way for training of 170,000 teachers next week on Monday.
“We are just orienting them since they are already qualified teachers,” said Dr Jwan. “They will be trained at different levels as we progress.” The curriculum support officers, who are employees of the Teachers Service Commission, will provide mentorship. After the training TSC will continue with induction of teachers on the curriculum for seven years.
LEADERSHIP
“More than 23,000 headteachers will also benefit from instructional leadership so that they can drive the process forward,” said Dr Jwan, who also praised headteachers of primary schools for their resolve to support some changes, including the rolling out of the new curriculum, saying it would improve education standards.
TSC chief executive Nancy Macharia said the commission will support implementation of the new curriculum by ensuring that all teachers are adequately inducted.
She said headteachers will play a leading role in overseeing its implementation, as the managers of their institutions.
CHALLENGES
Kenya Primary Schools Heads Association (Kepsha) chairman Shem Ndolo said although the new curriculum is good, the government must implement it with caution to safeguard against challenges that erode the gains of the current system.
“This is a viable programme that is competency-based and focuses on learners’ talents as well,” said Mr Ndolo. “All teachers want is the assurance that we have the right infrastructure in place before implementation.”
However, Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) secretary-general Wilson Sossion wants the rollout to be pushed to 2019, saying teachers are not prepared for the exercise as one month of training is not sufficient.
