CBC: Is it time we called it quits?

While we are engulfed in the heat of politics of the day, there is something more important happening in the Education sector that we need to focus our attention on. The first CBC cohort has entered Grade Five this year and will be concluding their primary school level by the end of the next year.

While this is a major milestone in our education sector, there seems to be no one concerned with it. The government and particularly the ministry of education have given this issue no attention at all leaving the future and the destiny of learners in limbo. As it is at this critical moment many questions remains unanswered:

Where next?

After Grade Six, apparently the learners are supposed to join junior high school. The junior high school is designated to consist of Grade 6, 7 and 9. This is where the issue is; will the learners proceed with the three grades in their current primary schools or will they transition to secondary schools? If they remain in their current institutions of learning, do we have infrastructural capacity to handle the extra class? If they proceed to secondary schools, do we have the infrastructural capacity to handle the added classes?

Who will teach the junior high school?

The next question is who will teach this new level of learning? Will they be taught by the current primary school teachers or by high school level teachers? Either way, how is the Teachers Service Commission harmonizing teaching manpower to address this impending crisis? How adequately has the teachers’ employer prepared them to handle the pioneer CBC class?

Is it a blessing or a curse?

The CBC concept is a great and revolutionary philosophy that is meant to enable learners excel in various areas of talents, gifting and skills. That means under the curriculum; no child is a “reject” as they will excel in their area of competence. However, this is as far as CBC on paper is concerned. The CBC on the ground is a totally different thing, far away from the decorated CBC on paper.

To begin with, the implementers; the teachers have no real grasp of what they are implementing. They are ill-equipped to handle the magnanimous CBC described on paper. With no proper training the teachers are left to do what they were trained to do; to dispense knowledge rather than to facilitate learning as outlined on the CBC documents.

Secondly, the teachers have not been equipped to define and identify the competences, skills and talents of learners. There are no clearly defined assessment tools and set measurement metrics to enable the teacher gauge the individual learners. The system as it is now does not offer space to decentralized and individualized learning.

Finally there are no support systems. Assuming a teacher identifies a kid extremely talented in games, music, painting, public speaking or any other special area; where do they refer them? Do we have specialized schools or talent academies? Do we have specialized teaching professionals?

My thought on this is that there is a lot that needs to be done. The ministry should come out clearly and give answers to the many questions that remain un-addressed. If there is no clear roadmap or there are not better plans yet, then we must humble ourselves, swallow our pride as a nation, declare the CBC a failed project and revert back to 8-4-4 at the earliest opportunity. Otherwise we are toying with the lives of an entire generation.

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?Samson Mung’athia 2021.