New Learning Areas In The new CBC changes
There is now comfort for learners enrolled in the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) as fewer subjects and lessons were added by the government.
The number of topics at each level of primary school has been lowered by two, and the curriculum has been split into lower and higher levels.
There are just seven disciplines that students in lower primary will study, with 31 lessons per week. This is a decrease from the current schedule of nine subjects taught in 35 lessons per week.
This implies that the four sessions per week of Environmental Activities will incorporate the subjects of Hygiene and Nutrition, which are currently separate subjects.
The topics of physical education, music, art, and craft will now be taught together as the Creative Arts, with seven courses planned each week for this new topic.
Only eight courses will be offered to upper primary students, who would receive 35 lessons a week in instruction.
New Learning Areas In The new CBC changes
Students at this level currently take 10 topics over 40 classes a week.
Here, home science and agriculture have been combined into a single composite subject called “Agriculture and Nutrition,” which will have four classes a week.
Additionally, Creative Arts will replace Art & Craft, Music, and Physical Education as a single topic. Creative Arts will consist of seven courses each week, much like in lower primary.
The largest reduction, however, occurs in Junior Secondary, where five subjects have been eliminated, leaving students in this level with just nine lessons. Health Education and Integrated Science will now be taught as one subject called Integrated Science. Social Studies and Life Skills Education have been combined and will now be called Social Studies. Pre-technical Studies, Computer Studies, and Business Studies are all combined into a new composite subject called pre-technical studies. Agriculture and some aspects of Home Science have been combined into one composite subject called Agriculture & Nutrition, with four lessons per week. Nevertheless, other concepts of Home Science have been integrated within Integrated Science.
Pre-Technical Studies is a hybrid course that combines Pre-Technical Studies, Computer Studies, and Business Studies.
The Visual Arts, Performing Arts, and Physical Education and Sports have all been combined into one composite topic known as Creative Arts and Sports.
New Learning Areas In The new CBC changes
There will be forty lessons per week covering the courses. These students currently take 45 lessons covering 14 disciplines.
The government will continue to offer the current 25 lessons per week and five subjects, thus there won’t be any modifications made to the way CBC is implemented at the pre-primary level.
Belio Kipsang, the principal secretary for basic education, announced the revised adjustments.
Foreign and indigenous languages will be taught as non-formal topics and will not be tested, according to the PS’s December 20 circular.
As a result, they will now be classified as co-curricular activities along with athletics, theater, and music festivals.
Changes take effect in January 2024, according to Ezekiel Machogu, cabinet secretary for education.
Parents were worried that CBC was overburdening students, therefore the changes were made in response.
New Learning Areas In The new CBC changes
Charles Ong’ondo, the chief executive of the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, stated that instructors will keep utilizing the textbooks that are currently provided for students in pre-primary through junior secondary.
The present text books will provide the content for the new learning subjects. Eighth graders will also utilize junior school textbooks as they have already been printed, according to Professor Ong’ondo.
Nevertheless, he stated that starting in Grade Nine, textbooks will follow the revised subject order.
According to Ong’ondo, the decrease of participants will result in a significant financial savings for CBC.
Instead of 14, parents will now only need to purchase nine books. And just doing this will cut down on the amount spent on CBC considerably. And according to Ong’ondo, this was one of the issues brought up by the new curriculum.
The announcement has been well received by educators and parents, who are relieved that their kids will have more time to devote to extracurricular activities and core studies.
Chairman of the National Parents Association Silas Obuhatsa praised the modifications, pointing out that they will lessen the strain on parents who have been having difficulties ever since CBC began.
New Learning Areas In The new CBC changes
According to Obuhatsa, the modifications follow the presidential working party’s recommendation from the parents.
Parents complained about the CBC on social media in 2021, claiming it was expensive and time-consuming for them as parents. Parents vented their annoyance at having to participate in their kids’ education.
We are appreciative that the government has paid attention to the worries of parents and implemented the required changes. We favor the subject decrease since it makes CBC more accessible to all homes, including the poorest ones, stated Obuhatsa.
The redesign follows suggestions made by a presidential working group on education reforms, which emphasized issues with stress among students and an overabundance of curricula.
Leading the streamlining initiative was KICD, which prioritized subject integration and reducing redundancies.
“KICD has streamlined its curriculum in accordance with the presidential working party’s suggestions. This seeks to address issues over curricular gaps, overlaps, and overload, according to a Kipsang circular announcing the adjustments.
Kipsang clarified that CBC follows the presidential team’s recommendation at the pre-primary level.
He added that senior school rules will be released in the first term of 2024.
When schools reopen, teachers will also have an opportunity to become acquainted with the curriculum design.
The circular states that the revised curriculum designs for the rationalized learning areas will be provided to schools during the first term of 2024 and will be available on the KICD website starting in January 2024.
New Learning Areas In The new CBC changes
