The Kenyan Competency Based Curriculum (CBC), is a new system of education that has been recently launched by the ministry of education. Its main aim is to stress the importance of developing skills and knowledge and also applying them to real life situations.
Even though the 8. 4. 4 system had its own pluses, the new curriculum is better in so many ways. The following are some of the ways in which the CBC education is better than 8. 4. 4;
- Accommodates everyone
- Students gain real world experience
- It is flexible
- Skill-based
- Closer student-teacher interaction.
- Allows students to work at their own pace
- An improved way of grading and assessment
- Affordable
- Continued evaluation
- Great childhood.
Accommodates everyone
Even though the 844 system tried accommodating everyone by introducing special schools, there was not enough resources and training for it to be successful. With the new training and improved facilities, the CBC program has equal chances for all Kenyans.
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Students gain real world experience
Many unemployed people in Kenya, who went through the 844 system were actually quite good in class. However, since the system only focused on students’ examination performance, their ability to apply what they learned in class is quite questionable. CBC is here to check on how competent a student can be once he/she is faced with real life challenges, and not just in class.
It is flexible
Unlike in the 844 system, where everything had a fixed timetable, CBC actually allows everyone to work at their own pace. Learning in the new curriculum is very easy since it can easily accommodate all types of students and nurture them.
Skill-based
In the 844 system, all students were taught the same thing despite their interests and skills. In other words, students were forced in to studying things they are not good at. This is one of the reasons that lead to drop outs every now and then.
The new curriculum allows one to find their area of expertise and invest their time and effort on it. With the right amount of guidance and pressure, one becomes so good at doing what they love.
Closer teacher-student interaction
There were a few cases where teachers in the 844 curriculum would go a whole term without knowing all their students. This just shows how much there was no interaction between the two.
However, CBC is here to correct this kind of ignorance. Among its many requirements, CBC requires for the teacher to study a child and know his/ her weaknesses and strengths. To do this a teacher will have to find ways to interact with the child from time to time.
Students work at their own pace
One of the many setbacks of the 844 system was how ignorant it was. All students were treated equally without acknowledging their differences and troubles. The slow learners were not given enough time to catch up with the rest of the students. With the new curriculum, each student is given time to properly work on their skills depending on how fast they can grasp what is taught.
An improved way of grading and assessment
The 844 system had one way of grading all students in Kenya despite the different challenges they went through. This is not the case with the new CBC curriculum, as students are graded according to what they do and how they improve over time.
Affordable
With all these advantages, you would expect that the new system is quite expensive. On the contrary, it is very cheap and affordable to the common ‘mwananchi’. Many parents take their kids to school in order to secure a better future. Is there a better way to do this than to help a child learn how to go about this not so friendly world?
Continued evaluation
After years of studying different things in the 844 system, one final exam was used to determine a student’s qualification. No matter how good a student had been in class, KCPE and KCSE would tell if he/ she is qualified for graduation to the next step.
Society would be quick to judge a student depending on how good they performed on their final examination. CBC wants to end this unfairness by testing students from time to time. Hence, a student’s future will be according to their progress over time.
Great childhood
No matter how bad we want our young generation to be educated, children should be allowed to be children. CBC allows children to learn new things while they live enjoy their childhood.
