The government has back-tracked on its decision to postpone the roll-out of the new curriculum to 2020.
Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed Saturday announced that the new curriculum will now be rolled in January next year, and not in 2020 as had agreed last week in Nairobi by the curriculum national steering committee meeting that she chaired at the Kenya institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).
The committee agreed that the piloting of the curriculum continues in 2019. Previously, the roll-out had been scheduled in 2019 but was moved forward after Ms Mohamed told the Senate committee on education two weeks ago that the country was not ready.
In a statement Saturday, Ms Mohamed said the ministry will commence a methodical and carefully organised phased roll-out of the competency based curriculum effective in pre-primary I and II and Grades 1, 2 and 3.
“Early in the New Year, the Ministry of Education will issue a detailed roll-out plan and timetable for the other grades that will lead to the last cohort of pupils sitting for their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) in 2023 and the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in 2027,” said Ms Mohamed.
She said stakeholders will put in place structures to support a national roll-out and map out clear systems and processes.
The ministry, she said, will continue with training of teachers and completion, approval and presentation of the statutory instruments, among others.
The development of an assessment framework for PPI to grade 3 will be done by March 2019 while preparation for curriculum design for Class Four will be done by April.
She added the national secretariat to steer the curriculum will be inaugurated and production and dissemination of requisite learning and instruction materials to support it made.
“The ministry will also facilitate continued public participation on education reforms. The reforms are part of a wider government determination to ensure a bold, transformative agenda for a better Kenya,” said the CS.
