Primary and secondary schools reopen for the third term from Tuesday amid changes the government has introduced to fix challenges the country’s education sector is grappling with.
Some changes the Kenya Kwanza administration has introduced in the university education and Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) for primary and secondary schools to align the education sector with its election pledges are expected to take effect from this term onwards.
The Ministry of Education begins implementing some recommendations made by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform Taskforce that have, among other things, reduced the number of subjects under CBC.
From next week when schools reopen, there will be a reduction of subjects for pre-primary, up to Junior Secondary Schools.
Last week, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) chief executive Prof Charles Ong'ondo said the agency had up to the end of August, to rationalise subjects from pre-primary, up to Junior Secondary Schools following Prof Raphael Munavu’s led taskforce proposals.
Currently, Junior Secondary school learners who are in Grade 7 are assessed in 12 core subjects and a maximum of two optional subjects bringing them to 14. However, the taskforce has proposed a scale down to eight and an optional learning area.
The 12 core subjects are English, Mathematics, Pre-technical studies, Kiswahili/KSL, Integrated Science, Social Studies, Business Studies, Agriculture, and Religious Education (either IRE, HRE and CRE).
Other lessons include Health Education, Sports and Physical Education, and Life Skills.
The learners are choosing a maximum of two out of seven subjects including visual arts, performing arts, home science, computer science, a foreign language between (German, French, Arabic, Mandarin), Kenyan Sign Language and Indigenous Language.
The funding model, which will not affect continuing students takes effect from September when the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education candidates are admitted at various universities.
However, the state wants to breathe life into the universities that were on the verge of collapse due to financial challenges by injecting Sh60 billion.
The model which was unveiled by President Ruto on May 3, includes scholarships, loans and household contributions on a graduated scale, scientifically determined by a means testing instrument.
President Ruto said students from needy households joining universities will receive government scholarships of up to a maximum of 53 per cent and loans of up to 40 per cent.
According to the model, the less needy students joining university will be funded through a government scholarship of up to a maximum of 38 per cent of the cost of the program, 55 per cent in the form of loans while their households will pay only seven per cent.
For those joining TVETS, they will be funded 32 per cent for government scholarships, 48 per cent for loans and their households will pay 20 per cent of the costs.
President Ruto said his administration is committed to ensuring all students are supported adequately in their education adding that the new funding model is inevitable to solve the financial crises that public universities are grappling with.
However, the model continues to elicit mixed reactions days to students' admission with a section of the members of the National Assembly urging the state to revert to the old model where students paid Sh16,000 annually to enrol for Degree courses.
They termed the new model expensive which will only cater to the children of the rich whose parents can afford a university education.
On August 24, while appearing before the National Assembly, Education Cabinet Secretary, Mr Ezekiel Machogu assured parents that none of the students joining universities will be turned away during admission due to lack of fees.
However, 70 per cent of the students are yet to apply for government funding. By Thursday, only 75, 272 students out of the 285 enrolled in universities and TVETs had successfully applied for the funding.
For days now the system has had challenges with CS Machogu acknowledging the same with hundreds of students especially those underage scared that they might be locked out as the deadline lapses September 7.
To determine a student’s level of need, the Helb MTI will be applied using eight parameters including the parent’s background (orphan, single parents etc), gender (male or female), course type (technology, engineering, agriculture, and mathematics or social sciences), previous school type (private or public), expenditure on education (whether other siblings are in high school or tertiary institutions).
Other instruments include family size and composition (polygamous, monogamous and the age of parents), marginalization (whether the students come from marginalized counties or institutions in the region), and persons living with disability (any form of disability).
