Kenia: Knut is opposed to foreigners meddling in education reforms

The ongoing review of the education curriculum is one of the most laudable undertakings in recent years.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) has advocated the review for many years without much success.

Though the current system has served the country well, it is bedevilled by numerous challenges.

Various studies and reports have underscored the need to conduct a thorough review, in fact, an overhaul to achieve the desired goals.

This requires a massive reorientation and a strong political will. Sessional Paper No 1 of 2005, the Education Strategy 2012-17, among others, have underlined the need for reforms.

Last year, Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i appointed a National Steering Committee consisting of key stakeholders and eminent educational professionals to spearhead the reforms.

Knut is a member and our understanding was that this is an independent committee and has the capacity and competence to oversee curriculum review.

However, Knut is increasingly getting concerned that the process, methodology and context of delivering the new education system is getting messed up.

First, the committee has not held any meetings for several months yet it was required to do so regularly to provide policy directions to the technical team, mainly staff of the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).

Related to this, some KICD insiders are using dirty tactics behind the back of able director Julius Jwan to delay or derail the process. We cannot accept such tricks.

UNACCEPTABLE ACT
Second, foreign organisations — not the development partners — have started to meddle in the process.

A month ago, one of those organisations convened a week-long workshop for some of the technical team in Nakuru, which at face value was to offer some training, it was actually to influence the content of the curriculum and teaching and learning materials.

As teachers, we abhor a situation where our education curriculum is determined or influenced by external organisations.

They should be delinked from the process or we will expose them.

Third, attempts are being made to align the launch of the new system with the political interests of the ruling Jubilee coalition.

Suggestions have been made to do a pilot curriculum in May so that Jubilee can use it for election campaigns. We cannot accept this.

All the necessary policies have not been enacted and approved by the steering committee.

Only two policies — curriculum framework and teaching education have been discussed and agreed upon.

However, another critical policy — assessments and examinations — has not been developed.

Teaching of the new curriculum cannot start before the whole gamut of policies — content, teacher education and tests and measurements — are concluded.

More critically, budgets have not been concluded, textbooks and other teaching and learning materials have not been developed, while teachers have not been trained.

These are motherhood items that have to be dealt with before any roll-out.

KEY SUGGESTIONS
As a union with a vested interest in education reform, we wish to recommend that Dr Matiang’i does the following: one, he should appoint a substantive chairperson to lead the steering committee and together with the team, set a clear timeframe for implementing the new curriculum.

Two, repulse all the foreign busy-bodies seeking to manipulate the process and three, delink reforms from politics.

Four, the minister and KICD director must be on the lookout for the insiders undermining the process.

The new system holds the key to Kenya’s future, and must be well-planned and implemented.

Experience from the 8-4-4 some 32 years ago taught us the folly of a hurried roll-out of a system whose objectives and philosophy were otherwise sound.

Fuente noticia: http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/Knut-is-opposed-to-foreigners-meddling-in-education-reforms/440808-3867084-1gkp9oz/index.html