Education: Major changes revealed

Kenya will have four different types of secondary schools if new proposals on education reforms are adopted.

In a major departure from the current system, the proposals provide for specialisation at senior secondary education level, with students expected to pursue any of the following disciplines — general, technical, talent and vocational education.

This means converting the existing schools to specialised institutions or allowing those capable of offering the four to do so under different streams.

Broadly, the new report proposes to scrap the 8-4-4 system and replace it with a 2-6-3-3-3 system.

The new changes should begin in September 2013 if all goes according to plan and will target those currently in Standard Four (Standard Five next year).

That lot will sit the first exam under the new system in 2014, called Kenya Primary Education Certificate (KPEC) and join junior secondary in 2015, proceed to senior secondary in 2018 and ultimately to university in 2021.

In the new structure, a child will take two years in pre-school, six in primary, three in junior secondary, three in senior secondary and three at university.

The changes mean preparing a new curriculum and publishing new textbooks.

Learning will be free from early childhood to senior secondary school level and collectively, this well be considered basic education.

“The new system should focus on child development, skills and competencies to be learn and ultimate outcome at each level from early childhood care and development to university level,” says the report that will be launched on Friday by Education minister Sam Ongeri.

The school calendar will run from September to July, unlike currently when it runs from January to November.

It is argued that the new calendar will conform with the financial year that runs from July 1 to June 30 and also aligns to the terms dates of universities.

Universities, following on the old British system, have traditionally admitted new students in September and closed for long vacation between May and August.

To implement the new system, the report says all schools should be upgraded and expanded to create a new learning environment.

In particular, it says the current day and boarding secondary schools should be converted into junior and secondary schools.

But junior secondary schools can be established within the existing primary schools in the same way the defunct ‘harambee’ schools were started in the 1970s/80s.

More senior schools should also be established to ensure that all qualifiers get admission to that level.

For the transition, the government will require Sh360 billion in the 2012/13 financial year to provide the infrastructure, including construction of classrooms, workshops and buying new textbooks as well as hiring new teachers.

Cumulatively, the government will need Sh1.4 trillion between 2012-2015 to implement the new education system.

In the current financial year, the Government has allocated some Sh160 billion for education.

Technical schools were abolished in the 1980s with the introduction of the 8-4-4 and the institutions were then upgraded to become technical training institutes.

But talent and vocational secondary schools are entirely new. Talent schools will offer courses in performing and creative arts such as music, drama and games besides the common courses.

Vocational secondary schools will focus on artisan and trade courses in addition to the common academic subjects.

Some of the core subjects are citizenship education, entrepreneurship, environmental studies, information technology and languages.

Under the new system, exams will be administered at lower primary and subsequently at the end of senior primary, junior and senior secondary.

The lower primary exams will be administered at the county level but the rest at the national.

Emphasis has been put on continuous assessment tests rather than the end-cycle exams that are faulted for failing to reflect the true abilities of learners.

The taskforce was chaired by a former vice chancellor of Moi University, Prof Douglas Odhiambo and was tasked to make recommendations to align the education system with the Constitution.

According to the report, the changes are aimed at realising the new Constitution, which provides for free education.

“It aims to provide opportunities for life-long learning and the achievement of basic education for all,” says the report.

Another new inclusion is the introduction of community outreach programmes for all learners.

At primary, junior and senior and secondary school levels, learners will be expected to go for community service once every week for at least three terms.

Students pursuing higher education will go for three weeks each academic year.

For good measure, learners will be awarded a certificate after a successful completion of the outreach programme.

In a way, this comes near the old pre-university national youth service of the 1980s.

Then, university qualifiers were required to go for a three-month training at the National Youth Service that was aimed at inculcating discipline in the youth and preparing them for community service. But it was stopped because it was expensive.

The report provides for a new regime of university education.

First, universities will be forced to drop certificate and diploma courses and instead concrete on degree programmes.

This would mean they cut links with the middle-level colleges offering certificate and diploma courses.

Second, it proposes new legislation to empower the Commission for Higher Education to take charge of admissions and quality assurance.

At present, the Joint Admission Board, which is a creation of the universities and without legal backing, is responsible for student intake.

They are also responsible for standards and quality assurance because they are autonomous entities.

University lecturers will also be required to go for training on teaching techniques to equip them with the right skills.

So far, most lecturers are only subject specialists but lacks teaching skills.

The taskforce also proposes new funding structure for primary and secondary schools.

For primary schools, the capitation grant for a child should increase from the current Sh1,020 a year to Sh5,189.

For the first time, the Government will also provide funds to pre-schools, at the rate of Sh2,292 a child a year.

At the secondary school level, a minimum fee of Sh14,614 is proposed for day schools, up from the current Sh10,265.

To implement the new education system, the Government will have to hire some additional 21,728 for secondary schools and 30,637 for primary schools.