THE STANDARD
The 8-4-4 education system is set to be replaced with a new 2-6-6-3 education system that could start running as soon as May next year on a pilot basis.
The current system, characterised by cutthroat national exams for Standard Eight and Form Four, will be replaced with continuous assessment tests that will run throughout the learning process.
And to transit to higher classes, a standardised national examination will be carried out, but only on sampled candidates across the country to gauge the overall understanding of taught subjects. These details are contained in the ‘Basic Education Curriculum Framework’.
The document eliminates the 8-4-4-education structure and proposes new learning levels from pre-school to tertiary education, complete with intended age gaps per learning stage.
If adopted by Kenyans, the 2-6-6-3 system will effectively end the three-decade-old structure characterised with high-level wastage and protracted examination process.
This means that children will spend two years in nursery and six years in lower and upper primary, each section divided into three years. Secondary education will also be split into two – lower and senior – each section taking up three years.
However, in upper secondary, learners will be expected to specialise by taking up either of three paths – arts and sports, social sciences and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
This means that at grade four, learners will be introduced to the optional subjects offered at upper primary to enable them make informed choices at grade seven. And learners in lower secondary will undergo a rigorous career guidance programme and be exposed to the related subjects to enable them to make informed choices as they transit to senior school.
The document, prepared by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), is a product of intensive consultations and stakeholder engagement. Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said the document will be presented to stakeholders this week. “We will present the proposed new curriculum to education stakeholders at a National Curriculum Conference to be held on December 8, 2016, after which we can plan how to implement it,” said Matiang’i.
KICD Chief Executive Officer Jwan Julius said if stakeholders ratify the document this Thursday, piloting will be done from May. “We shall start piloting of the lower primary, then do a national roll out of the classes in 2018. Other classes will be done on a phased out approach,” said Jwan.
Nursery education will take a maximum of two years and will be attended by children aged between four and five. And while in school, children will be taught good manners. “Throwing litter, washing hands, using courteous language; basic communication skills such as reading and writing; counting, mannerisms, knowing the environment, socialisation and religious values should be emphasised,” reads the report.
And these will cover languages, which include indigenous (language spoken in the catchment area), mathematics, environmental, religious and moral learning areas. Children in upper primary– Standard Four to Six – of age nine to 12 will be taught Kiswahili, home science, agriculture, science and technology, religious education, creative arts, physical and health education.
Social studies such as citizenship, geography and history will also be taught. Foreign languages (Arabic, French, German and Chinese) will be optional. “There will be two types of assessment in upper primary. Formative assessment from grades 4-6 will be continuous through individual learners’ portfolios. To transit to grade 7, a national assessment will be administered at grade 6,” reads the document.
