Pupils in class. [Photo/citizentv.co.ke]
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will support the implementation of the new curriculum by ensuring that all teachers have adequately inducted ahead of the roll out next month.
TSC Secretary/Chief Executive Nancy Macharia said head teachers will play a lead role in overseeing its implementation, as the managers of their institutions.
“Our school curriculum has been under review for some time now. In a matter of months, a new curriculum will be rolled out,” she said during the 13th Kenya Primary Schools Headteachers Association.
The new curriculum, she said, is intended to make schooling more functional by equipping learners with skills to help them navigate through life.
Dr. Macharia observed that the conference was important as it was coming against the backdrop of major reforms in the education sector.
Uncertainty over the fate of national examinations saw many teachers seek clarification on the matter, as some sought to know how learners will be assessed without compromising quality.
Senior Deputy Director-Curriculum and Research services Jacqueline Onyango assured the teachers that the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations will not be scrapped as from next year when the new curriculum is rolled out, for early years learners.
This is because the 8-4-4 system of education is being phased off gradually starting with learners in nursery up to standard three, referred to as Pre-Primary one and two and Grade one to three in the new curriculum.
The national examinations will eventually be administered differently with a special focus on continuous assessment of learners, according to the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).
“We need to begin schooling ourselves to move away from over-reliance on national examinations that categorise learners into failures and those who have succeeded, irrespective of the learners’ other abilities and talents,” Ms. Onyango said.