Dayo Yussuf
The familiar clang of the school bell sets off a blur of 300-odd students excitedly exiting the examination room at St John Primary School in Nairobi's Kariobangi estate.
The batch has just finished their final day in primary school. A new chapter beckons. High school.
But this is more than just an educational rite of passage in Kenya – it marks the end of an era in how students go from kindergarten to university.
Schools across the East African country are switching from the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), popularly known as 8-4-4, to a new competency-based curriculum called CBC.
The 8-4-4 system got its name from the eight years required for primary school, four years of high school, and an equal number of years in university.
Morgan Oduor is among the 1.4 million students nationwide who wrote their final primary school examination under the KCPE curriculum in November.
"I don't think KCPE was too rigid or hard," he tells TRT Afrika. "I used to be scared of the final exam, but it turned out to be reasonably manageable."
Like many in his batch, Morgan is oblivious — at least for now — to the significance of this being the last school exam conducted in accordance with the old curriculum.
"The country's goal was to develop a highly skilled, ethical and patriotic workforce through competency-based education," says Milly Bulungu, a retired teacher in Kenya.
The start of the journey for the new system can be traced back to 2010 when Kenya's new constitution proposed such a change.
This came about after a deluge of complaints about the heavy burden the then 8-4-4 system was putting on students.
The refrain among students, guardians and many experts was that the syllabus for each level was far too extensive and the grading system in examinations was harsh.
The system had been in place since the Kenyan government removed the older colonial-era education system in 1985.
"When we switched to the 8-4-4 system, we were asked to teach and evaluate students in 11 subjects for primary education," Bulungu recounts to TRT Afrika. "This was tough on a child of 13 or 14. The burden became heavier not just for the students but the teachers, too."
Milly believes that the best thing about the new system is lowering the entry into university. "This means many more people are now qualified to join higher education," she says.
Resistance to change
Back in 1985, a large section of Kenyans had rejected the system that is now being phased out on the premise that it would shut out the majority of students aspiring to a university education.
The curriculum instead recommended vocational training for those who didn't make the cut. The inherent drawbacks in the system influenced the push towards the 8-4-4 format. But even that came with its set of challenges, as Milly recounts.
"We ended up offering degrees without considering the job market," she points out. "Parents were excited at the prospect of their children attending universities, but the quality of the degree did not ring any alarm.”
The US and Canada had initially tried out the 8-4-4 system before they concluded that they needed something else.
Fast forward to 35 years later, Kenyans have also woken up to the drawbacks of the 8-4-4 format. The job market is saturated with many graduates and few employment opportunities.
Merit-based system
As its name suggests, the CBC is designed to free the current and possibly future generations of the burden of getting degrees that don't matter.
According to the new constitution, every child must receive guidance to identify his or her strengths from a very early stage and help to build on these for suitable careers.
But Steven Mwangi, a primary schoolteacher in Nairobi, is among those who believe that the country isn't prepared for its implementation.
"We knew consultations were going on. We support the change. However, the majority of us teachers haven't received proper training yet. The transition hasn't been smooth," he tells TRT Afrika.
In December 2017, the government issued a directive to kick off the new curriculum. Stakeholders in policy-making and syllabus creation were asked to prepare to roll out the system expeditiously.
"Even the infrastructure wasn't in place," recalls Steven. "CBC suits a class of not more than 30 children for it to work well. Currently, a teacher handles 70 or more kids in one class. It's a nightmare."
Parents have also had to make huge adjustments, primarily financial. "I was shocked at first. The list of things I had to buy for my daughter was too long," says Fatma, who has a daughter in Grade 3.
"They are doing many more practical lessons. If it is not crayons, they want beads, moulding clay, or cooking utensils. There is always something to take to school every day."
On the positive side, children are now challenged to tap into their interests and talents. A student's academic performance is measured over time as the individual continues learning instead of just preparing for exams.
Class-based assessment requires teachers to evaluate students extensively, including communication and collaboration, critical thinking and problem-solving, creativity and imagination, digital literacy and self-efficacy.
"Teachers don't say a child got an A or 90% while grading students. They use language like, 'the child has exceeded expectations', meaning he or she did well. The next one is 'meeting expectations', which means the child's performance has been average,” says Milly.
The biggest transformative challenge for the country now is how different generations that emerged from varying education systems merge to build a workforce that will help grow and sustain Kenya.
