Kenya: Ignore Fake Kenyan Education Curriculum Reforms Making the Rounds On Facebook, Says Education Ministry

3 October 2024
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Grace Gichuhi

Ignore fake Kenyan education curriculum reforms making the rounds on Facebook, says education ministry

IN SHORT: A viral Facebook post claims significant reforms to the competency-based curriculum under new education minister Julius Ogamba. The ministry of education says this is not true.

A post making the rounds on Facebook claims that Kenya's new competency-based curriculum (CBC) is set for more reforms under the country's new education minister.

On 19 July 2024, president William Ruto appointed Julius Migos Ogamba as the cabinet secretary for education in his new broad-based cabinet. Ogamba was sworn in on 7 August.

The CBC is a major educational reform that emphasises skills and competencies through active participation. It follows a 2-6-3-3 structure, comprising two years of pre-school, six years of primary, three years of secondary and three years of tertiary education.

However, it has faced challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, insufficient teacher training and concerns about the reliability of assessments. Many parents also do not understand the CBC, leading to resistance, while inconsistent implementation has led to variations in quality.

There are also budget constraints and uncertainties about the transition of students to non-CBC secondary schools.

Changes announced in the post

According to the online post, these proposed changes include converting sub-county schools into junior schools, funding primary schools that do not have nearby sub-county high schools, and adjusting the assessment structure.

The proposed reforms claimed in the post introduce several key changes compared to the current system:

1. Transformation of sub-county schools:

  • Current: Grade 7 learners move directly to junior secondary school in neighboring secondary schools.
  • Proposed: Grade 7 to remain in primary schools for an additional year, with Grades 8 and 9 gradually moving to sub-county schools, and full absorption depending on available facilities.

2. Junior school extension to grade 10:

  • Current: Junior school currently ends at Grade 9.
  • Proposed: Junior school will now be extended to Grade 10, giving learners more time to explore different career paths before choosing a direction for senior school.

3. Financing for primary schools without nearby sub-county schools:

  • Current: No specific funding for primary schools to create junior school sections.
  • Proposed: Primary schools without nearby sub-county schools will receive funding to build additional classrooms and laboratories for junior school.

4. Pathway branding of senior schools:

  • Current: Pathways for learners are less clear and are not clearly branded by school type but by level of education.
  • Proposed: County, extra-county and national schools to be branded according to specific learning pathways, with an emphasis on specialisation based on resources and geography.

5. Assessment structure:

  • Current: Junior school examinations and assessments include a combination of coursework and final examinations.
  • Proposed: A clearer breakdown, with 30% coursework, 20% projects and 50% final exams, will now have a direct impact on the placement of learners into specific pathways in senior school.

Other posts with the supposed reforms also appear here and here. (Note: See more instances at the end of the report.)

So is Kenya's education sector set for further reform? We checked.

Fake reforms

Due to the immense public interest, credible news outlets in Kenya often widely report on the CBC reform. However, we did not find such coverage.

We checked the ministry of education website but found no such information.

Instead, the ministry of education flagged the information as "FAKE" on its official X account.

"The Ministry of Education wishes to advise the public to ignore this fake content that is circulating in some online platforms," the ministry wrote.

This false claim also appears here, here, here and here.

Read the original story, with links and other resources.
Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. Twitter @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

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