CBC will end exam cheating, says Magoha amid clamour to scrap it
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha unveils a plaque at Allidina Visram High School in Mombasa when he officially opened a new classroom which will host junior secondary school students on February 6. Kevin Odit | Nation
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has defended the new competency based curriculum (CBC), saying it is the magic bullet for integrity concerns that have dogged the setting, printing and administration of examinations.
Prof Magoha added that CBC helps children discover their career paths early enough by exposing them to their areas of interest at an early age.
“Students going to Grade Six will be less motivated to cheat under CBC as tests contribute 40 per cent of assessment grades,” he said. He was speaking at St Mary’s Secondary School in Kangundo, Machakos County yesterday when he launched new classrooms built to accommodate junior secondary school students.
Prof Magoha said CBC is not exam-oriented like the 8-4-4 system, explaining that children going to Grade Six next year will have done 60 per cent of their assessment, leaving only 40 per cent for the final exam. This, he said, removed the motivation to cheat in the final exam.
He told off those opposing the CBC on account that there was no public participation during its formulation. He said parents will not accept their children who are in Grade Five to be taken back to Class One under the 8-4-4 system.
Burdensome to parents
His remarks came in the backdrop of a threat by Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi to abolish CBC “once the Ruto-Mudavadi government takes power in August”.
In a statement on Monday, Mr Mudavadi said CBC was burdensome to parents and was being implemented without wide consultations with stakeholders.
The government has completed building 700 of the planned 6,400 classrooms, Prof Magoha said.
A further 2,000 classrooms are at roofing level, he said, adding that the target was to complete construction before the end-of-year exams start in three weeks.
“We are putting up 6,400 classrooms, which marks the first phase in preparation for January next year when the current Grade Six pupils will transit to junior secondary school.”
The Grade Five pupils will join Grade Six in May.
“The programme will not be affected by transition politics,” the CS said, adding he was not worried about the availability of resources. Some schools had surplus classrooms and no new ones will be built in such schools.
