CS George Magoha chides politicians for 'meddling' with CBC
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha speaks during a graduation ceremony at the University of Embu on September 17, 2021.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha Friday lashed out at politicians, accusing them of dragging politics into the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).
Speaking during a graduation ceremony at the University of Embu, the CS accused politicians of trying to discredit the CBC, yet they know it was well researched.
The CBC has taken off successfully, prof Magoha said, and asked the politicians to stop meddling.
“The curriculum is here to stay. The Government of Kenya, under the leadership of President Uhuru Kenyatta, in its wisdom started the CBC for the benefits of our children. The new education system must be fully implemented,” he said.
"Why should someone who is well educated claim the CBC did not go through Parliament yet the document stuck there for six months?"
Dr Magoha said the political conversation on the new education system has been going on for a long time and should stop.
"The CBC is not going anywhere. We have no time to continue arguing about it," he said, further asking the politicians to stop gambling with the lives of five million school children.
Some of the students who graduated from the University of Embu on September 17, 2021.
Huge investments made
The CS reminded the politicians that children do not belong to any political parties so they should be allowed a conducive environment to learn.
He further noted that because the government is taking education seriously, it has trained more than 228,000 teachers on the new curriculum and is investing heavily in it.
Twenty five per cent of the country's budget was spent on education despite the prevailing economic challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the CS said, adding Kenya’s teachers are the best-trained in the world so they should not be underrated.
"Our teachers are highly qualified and are even hired to teach the Americans and Britons. We should support them.,” he said.
"Kenyans should be extremely sober and serious about the state of the country's economy. We are not at the top economically but our government is spending 25.9 percent of its budget on education. Therefore, it is unreasonable to say we are not spending enough.”
University of Embu Chancellor, Paul Musili, confers a PhD degree on Lydia Magao during a graduation ceremony on September 17, 2021.
University praised
Prof Magoha praised the University of Embu for being compliant with the CBC.
He also congratulated the university on being ranked the best performing state corporation in the 2019/ 2020 financial year.
“The university has beaten all corporations. It is also managing its finances well so the government will continue allocating more resources to make it grow in all areas of academics," he said.
The university’s chancellor, Paul Musili, further said the campus has grown tremendously over the years so he is proud to be associated with it.
The University Vice Chancellor, Prof Daniel Mugendi, said it has taken teamwork for the campus to be ranked the top nationally in terms of performance.
During the ceremony, 1,576 students graduated with various degrees.
Parents were not allowed into the campus to congratulate their children due to protocols put in place by the government to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
