The new education curriculum to replace the 8-4-4 system will be fully rolled out next year, it emerged yesterday. Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i announced the roll-out of Phase II of piloting of the 2-6-3-3-3 curriculum in all the 33,000 schools across the country for Grade 1 and 2. Yesterday, a report on the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) was presented to the National Steering Committee chaired by Dr Matiang’i, detailing the road map for the new education system.

The committee has set 2027 as the year when the 8-4-4 will be completely replaced by the new system. The team is set to finalise a Sessional Paper for Parliament to approve the new curriculum before industry stakeholders hold a national conference in August to adopt the full roll-out set for next year.

Addressing the press at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum and Development (KICD) following the National Steering Committee consultative meeting, Dr Matiang’i maintained that the implementation of the curriculum was on course and would be realised as planned. He also confirmed that the National Treasury had released Sh29 billion for free day secondary education, which he said should be in schools by Friday.

“We have now officially commenced the rollout of the curriculum as envisaged in our plan all along. "Within the first quarter of 2018, we expect Parliament to give the Sessional Paper and Curriculum Policy a legal backing to pave way for complete curriculum reforms. During the same time, we will continue engagement with other stakeholders, especially the Council of Governors, on how the two levels of government will manage pre-primary education,” added Matiang'i.

The CS said 170,000 teachers had been trained to handle learning materials for the new curriculum. Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary-General Wilson Sossion, who has been pushing for the delay of the implementation process, said activities lined up for this year would address their concerns. He said players would be able to debate the progress of the pilot stage during the National Conference set for August this year, before the new curriculum can be fully implemented.

"We are satisfied with the preparations so far, and we urge teachers to support the new curriculum and also ask parents to drop the anxiety,” he added. KICD Chairperson Sarah Ruto explained that for the 470 schools that were in Phase I piloting, they would have the programme rolled out to Grade 3. She said all the preparations for the new curriculum had been put in place. “There comes a time where you have to stop preparing and you take the next step,” said Ruto.

“The National Steering Committee has therefore resolved to roll out Phase II pilot of the Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC) to all learners in Grade 1 and 2 countrywide in 2018 as part of national roll out,” she added.

She explained that a technical team of curriculum experts drawn from relevant Government departments, led by KICD, was set to finalise on Sessional Paper and Curriculum Policy for Parliament's approval. The team is also set to engage with the Council of Governors on ways of anchoring the Pre-Primary Education within county governments.

Members of the National Steering Committee include Education PSs Belio Kipsang,  Collette Suda and Dina Mwinzi, Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori, Mr Sossion, Teachers Service Commission CEO Nancy Macharia, Kenya National Examination Council Secretary Mercy Karogo as well as chairpersons of primary and secondary school heads associations. Others are National Council of Churches of Kenya Secretary General the Rev Canon Peter Karanja, Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims Secretary General Adan Wachu and School of Education dean Fatuma Chege, among others.