By The Weekly Vision Team
There was uproar in the National Assembly yesterday regarding the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), as lawmakers criticized the government for its lack of preparation ahead of the transition of Grade 8 students to Grade 9 next year.
Members of Parliament (MPs) accused the government of failing to provide adequate infrastructure, hire enough teachers, and properly train those already in service. During a debate on an adjournment motion tabled by Kathiani MP Robert Mbui, MPs expressed their concerns that teachers were being forced to instruct students without the necessary resources due to insufficient funding from the government. They also noted that teachers have raised issues with the syllabus prepared by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), citing errors that must be corrected before the transition.
Mbui, leading the debate, pointed out that despite nearly 1.5 million students set to transition from Grade 8 to Grade 9 in over 32,000 schools across the country within the next three months, the Ministry of Education remains unprepared. He lamented that the uncertainty surrounding the transition has caused anxiety among parents and raised doubts about the education sector’s readiness.
He further highlighted confusion stemming from the government’s shift in infrastructure plans. Initially, Grade 9 was to be housed in secondary schools, but following recommendations from the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms, it was decided that junior secondary schools (JSS) would remain in primary schools. “We need 32,469 classrooms, and that’s assuming each school only needs one. Many schools have multiple streams, meaning we may need nearly 60,000 classrooms,” Mbui stated. He also raised the issue of teacher shortages, questioning the claim of free education when parents must regularly contribute to hiring teachers.
With 1.3 million Grade 8 students set to transition in January, the pressure is mounting. The National Treasury recently announced that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) would only be able to hire the 46,000 junior secondary school intern teachers on permanent and pensionable terms from January 2025. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has begun constructing 11,000 classrooms nationwide, with an additional 5,000 classrooms to be built with support from the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) to meet the needs of Grade 9 students.
