Experts Push for CBC Compatibility in Universities and Colleges
The government has been urged to ensure universities and colleges align their programmes with the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). The call for early preparation was emphasized at an education dialogue forum on quality and learning outcomes held at a Kakamega school.
Prof. Peter Bukhala, the acting Deputy Vice Chancellor for Planning, Research, and Innovation at Masinde Muliro University, noted that the state had not yet facilitated public universities to train teachers for CBC implementation.
He warned that without urgent reforms, universities might be unprepared when students begin transitioning in 2029.
He stressed that the Ministry of Education must collaborate with universities well in advance rather than waiting until 2029 to hastily train teachers when students move from senior secondary school to higher education.
“The Ministry of Education needs to collaborate with universities and should not wait till 2029 to rush the training when students will be transiting from senior secondary school to university,” he added.
Prof. Bukhala also highlighted the importance of a flexible CBC curriculum, allowing learners to enroll in universities for newly introduced short courses that align with prior learning initiatives.
He expressed concern that while the CBC system aligns with global education standards, the first university intake in 2029 could face significant challenges due to unaddressed structural gaps.
He pointed out that stakeholders have focused heavily on junior secondary schools, neglecting the transition process for students completing senior secondary education.
He lamented that universities’ role in CBC development had not progressed as expected, despite numerous seminars and workshops discussing the curriculum. He argued that what universities planned for CBC integration did not align with actual implementation.
Call for a Universal CBC Approach
To ensure a seamless transition from primary school to university, Prof. Bukhala called for a universal CBC approach that would provide a structured progression for learners, ultimately delivering tangible results in the future.
At the same forum, Anne Esese, the Chief Principal of Lugari Teachers Training College, raised concerns about the lack of trained educators for new learning pathways such as building construction, woodwork, and electrical engineering.
She revealed that due to this shortfall, institutions were relying on teachers from other disciplines, such as physics, to instruct these subjects.
“We do not have trained teachers and we are compelled to use other teachers including physics ones, to teach those key subjects,” she added.
She further highlighted that trainee teachers faced difficulties when deployed to schools for practice, as they were expected to teach CBC without sufficient mentorship from experienced teachers. Instead of working under shadow mentors, these trainees were being directly assigned teaching responsibilities without adequate guidance.
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“Teachers sent on practice are supposed to work under shadow mentors but instead they are being exposed directly to teaching without being mentored,” she said.
The State Department for Basic Education has been organizing county-based dialogue forums to engage stakeholders on the progress, achievements, and challenges of CBC. These discussions aim to identify solutions and strategies to strengthen the curriculum’s implementation across all education levels.
Experts Push for CBC Compatibility in Universities and Colleges
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