Migori — Cabinet Secretary for Education Ezekiel Machogu has said the government is committed to the full implementation of all the proposed Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) subject reviews.
Machogu who spoke during groundbreaking classroom constructions in various secondary schools in Kuria East and West Sub counties said that already the ministry has released a circular to ensure the proposed changes are implemented.
President William Ruto had already approved the recommendations of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) and ordered their immediate implementation to lower the number of learning areas for learners in the CBC beginning January 2024.
Machugo said that PWPER met with all stakeholders in the education sector to see how fit to streamline the education sector.
"Our children were overloaded with subjects and thanks to the PWPER recommendations that were trailed by education shareholders, each and every level of CBC will see a reduction in subjects," Machugo noted.
The number of learning areas was reduced from nine to seven for Grades One to three, 12 to eight for Grades four to six and from 14 to nine for Grades seven to nine.
CBC expenses
The CS also said that the majority of parents had complained about how expensive CBC was but assured them that the government through the Ministry of Education was relooking at the issue to see how fit to make it more affordable.
Machogu also disclosed that the government was fully committed to building laboratories in the junior secondary section to improve the learning activities.
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He, however, was pleased with how the ministries of Education and ICT had partnered to build and equip digital laboratories in Technical Vocational Education and Training Institutions (TVETs).
"We have already equipped 60 percent of TVETs with Jitume Kazi Laboratories to equip young people with necessary skills and competence in the digital economy", affirmed Machogu.
He explained that the Jitume Centres will equip learners with practical skills in job markets, the greatest asset that the country requires in terms of human capital.
Machogu however, urged the Kuria community to shunt the retrogressive culture of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in order to realise education value.
"The world has gone digital and the only way to secure the future of our girls is through proper learning models like digital economy through Jitume Centres," Machogu concluded. - Kna
