Crisis at the Education ministry as Matiang’i reform project collapses
Matiang'i was recently transferred to Interior Ministry
Towards the end of the 2017 and in the first days of 2018, Matiang’i led the Education ministry in starting an ambitious programmed that would ultimately see 8-4-4 curriculum replaced with the 2-6-3-3-3 system.
Matiang’i has since been moved to the Interior Ministry and replaced by Amina Mohamed in the Education docket.
The project was rolled out in January and was expected to be fully implemented within ten years.
Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development
However, The Star reported that the programme has collapsed in most parts of the country due to issues such as poor teacher training and lack of teaching materials.
Now on the sixth week of learning, numerous schools are yet to receive the new syllabus forcing many of the teachers to resort to the old syllabus.
The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) has admitted that there has been a challenge distributing teaching materials for the new system, but promised to resolve the paralysis in good time.
"Some schools have received teaching materials...the process is ongoing ... some will receive them in due course," KICD director Julius Jwan was quoted The Star.
Wilson Sossion
Shortage of teachers and poor training on the implementers of the new curriculum has also been cited as huge challenges.
Kenya National Union of Teachers secretary general Wilson Sossion emphasises that training for a new curriculum must come with more time for teachers to get things right.
Sossion says the month-long training held in December last year was too shallow for a paradigm shift yet most teachers do not understand the new teaching procedure.
Jwan has promised that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will in the course of the year carry out a more comprehensive training for teachers handling the new curriculum.
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