Stop sideshows, implement new curriculum

It is now official we are rolling out the new curriculum starting this month. We have to ignore arguments against tangible research findings on the weaknesses of the 8-4-4 system. The shift from knowledge-based learning to competence-based learning is now within sight. What is important now is to move with speed and address some of the implementation hiccups already identified.

Key to the successful implementation of the system is proper training of teachers. Teachers should be trained to design tasks for students that enable them achieve their objectives. Under the new system, the role of the teacher has changed from an information giver to a facilitator. They are expected to simply provide the democratic environment, materials, the activities and guidance to the learners.

We now have to empower teachers to appreciate the fact that they need to design creative activities and materials if their lesson are to be successful. That is why we have to in-service teachers on new approaches to lesson planning. Under the new system, the teacher has to identify each competency and plan for activities to instil the skills. Teachers also have to give learners opportunity to practice these skills. But more significantly teachers have to be trained to always take into consideration personal differences of the learners and deal with them individually. That is precisely why this system can only succeed if teachers devote large amounts of time to create activities to teach specific skills.

In competence based learning teachers have to encourage students to engage in active inquiry and make explicit their implicit expectations. The teacher should be keen on outcomes and assess application of what has been learnt in form of actions and performances. In essence therefore, we need to prioritise training of teachers. The classroom has to be an interactive space that encourages experimentation and exchange of ideas. This can only happen if the teacher motivates students enough.

Equally important is the process of preparing teaching resources. Well-designed performance activities should aim at making the students to practice the requisite skills. Materials aimed at being used in classrooms should be oriented to doing rather than knowing. Students have to be taken through activities oriented towards the ability to successfully complete a real-world task. My plea to the Ministry of Education and by extension Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) is to work closely with publishers and guide in the development of the right teaching resources. Availability of these materials will contribute towards a successful implementation of the curriculum.

Our approach to assessment of learners has to change. We will need to overhaul the whole assessment system. Use of formative assessments will help determine how well a student is progressing along the path to competency. These assessments have to be frequent and specific. Summative assessments should be designed to determine whether or not the student has mastered the competency.

We have to guard the system from suffering the same fate as that of 8-4-4 system.

We have to insulate it from massive wastage and cut throat competition for grades with minimal emphasis on skill acquisition for learners. But more importantly, the Ministry has to bring everybody on board. A national strategy of informing and consulting all stakeholders should be designed and implemented. Top on this list of stakeholders are the teachers unions.

Trade Unions are not professional bodies and sometimes run off the mark, but we have to engage them. By their very nature, trade unions often advocate for positions that bring immediate comfort to their members without projecting far enough and without truly engaging the issues with fidelity, but they are key stakeholders who have to be made to appreciate the need for competence based learning.

I think opposition to the new system is partly driven by fear of the unknown. There is no time we will be 100 per cent ready for implementation. The time is now.

Prof Kabaji is the Deputy Vice Chancellor at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology