KEPSA Education Sector Board leaders held a meeting with Prof Charles Ong’ondo – Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) Chief Officer/Director on 26th July 2022 at KICD offices. The meeting focused on the progress of implementation of curriculum reforms and transition management, positioning Kenya as a regional and global hub in Education and identification of opportunities for partnership and collaboration between KICD and the KEPSA Education Sector Board.

In his opening remarks, Prof Ong’ondo noted that the mandate of KICD is advising the government on curriculum matters, approving all local and foreign curricula and evaluating all curriculum materials before use in schools. The Institute also is mandated to enter into partnerships with legitimate organizations registered in Kenya. He pointed out that the Institute was at the forefront of implementing curriculum reforms that gradually phase out the knowledge-based curriculum 8-4-4 structure to the 2-6-6-3 competency-based curriculum (CBC) that emphasizes the learner-cantered approach and the teacher is a facilitator.

CBC takes in all aspects of reforms recommended over the years, including content, teacher training, and physical and digital infrastructure. The change management of the education system began in 1989 when all the education commissions, including, Kamunge, Koech, Mackey, and Odhiambo Reports, called for the need for Kenya to change her education system.

In her remarks, Ms Wairimu Njage – Vice-Chair, KEPSA Education Sector Board, complimented the rich history of collaboration between KICD and KEPSA. The Education Sector Board represents a wider array of institutions and stakeholders in Kenya that are agile and flexible in responding to the country’s education needs.

The meeting deliberations focused on the following areas:

1. Update on the progress of implementation of curriculum reforms
2. The digital era and its impact on the training model in Kenya
3. Positioning Kenya as a regional and global hub of Education
4. Partnership and collaboration between KICD and KEPSA Education Sector Board

Progress of implementation of Curriculum Reforms;

Kenya is very competitive in implementing curriculum reforms ranking 3rd in Africa after South Africa and Egypt. As a developing country, Kenya is very far ahead in implementing curriculum reforms. The country is currently implementing Grade 5 and 6, with both levels being implemented under the corona pandemic, thus putting pressure on the whole world. The education sector has to catch up with curriculum and curriculum materials development.

KICD has nonetheless already developed curriculum materials up to grade 12. The KICD boss reported that the curriculum materials for junior secondary are ready. KICD has evaluated books for junior secondary schools; the government has procured curriculum materials to distribute to public schools. There is no competition between the private sector and government, and many opportunities for synergy and transfer of best practices are gained through partnership and collaboration. “We are at Grade 4 in developing digital support materials. The exists an Edu channel and radio classes for offering digital learning. Every learner can access relevant material from the digital cloud.” Said Prof Ong’ondo.

Teacher induction is undertaken at every transiting class, has introduced a rigorous process for rationalizing curriculum development, and evaluated books and materials KICD was delighted with the implementation and progress made in effecting the curriculum reforms. The country is ready for Junior Secondary Transition.

Digital Era and Impact on Training Model in Kenya:

The KICD Educational Media Director Ms Eunice Gachoka shared the progress in providing electronic and non – electronic material to enhance access, inclusivity, and enhance the quality of Education. The Digital progress is on track, but there is a need for a lot of support. The Kenya Education Cloud partnership is active, where the private sector supports digital content development. The Elimika platform is used to orient teachers in integration into the curriculum. The training materials for teachers for digital training have also been developed. There is a need for training digital content developers to ensure they meet the expected standards of quality.

Challenges in digital Education include access to the curriculum by teachers, and support to parents, especially those who have not understood CBC. KICD has used short messages (SMS) to communicate with parents, but this support has since lapsed and requires resources and partners. There is an opportunity to leverage international schools’ experience with CBC to share best practices, leverage media facilities, and tap into best practices in CBC implementation using digital mediums.

Positioning Kenya as a Regional and Global Hub:

CBC offers an opportunity to position Kenya as a regional and global hub of Education. Most of the international curriculum is competency-based. The Institute has participated in regional and global forums, including the African Curriculum Conference in the Gambia. Prof Ong’ondo invited KEPSA to support the Institute by linking with relevant bodies that can assess, accredit and approve Kenya as the regional and global hub of Education.

Partnership and Collaboration:

On Industry-academia linkages, there is an opportunity for vibrant industry participation at the senior secondary school level, where dual certification will be easier to implement. The industry will also be engaged in curriculum development for teacher training. Partnership opportunities exist in sharing of best practices in assessment and curriculum delivery to support the broader change management and acceptance of CBC; partnerships for ICT access, content development and training of developers, organization of regular forums for update and best practice sharing, development of dual training model for senior secondary schools among others. These will be consolidated in a detailed memorandum and terms of reference to be shared between KEPSA and KICD.

Meeting Outcomes:

• Transitioning TVETA-CDACC functions to KICD and KNEC has been concluded and will be officially announced soon.
• KEPSA will develop and share a concept note on the partnership framework to inform the partnership and collaboration thematic areas agreement by September 2022.
• KICD to invite the private sector to participate in observing the real-time curriculum development and materials validation process.
• Kenya Association of Independent International Schools (KAIIS) to share the assessment dialogue model with KICD.