Part 1: The Kenyan National Curriculum

About Kenya

My Home is Kenya

Famous tourist destination for its amazing wildlife and scenic natural countryside, Kenya is an East African country that sits on the equator and whose coastline caresses the Indian Ocean. It is home to the 8^th wonder of the world – the annual wildebeest migration.  Historians and archaeologists, furthermore, found evidence from over 3 million years ago that would suggest Kenya was actually the cradle of humanity (Belgians might have been Kenyans at some point that many years ago then).

To the more recent history, the former British colony has had a commendable growth on the Educational as well as the social and economic fronts. The most noteworthy dates in the Kenyan history from the 20^th Century include the Independence year (1963), the
birth of multiparty democracy (1991) and the worst terrorist attack in the Country´s Capital(1998).  Kenya has however also had its fair share of infighting that were mostly politically and ethnically instigated. In 2007, there erupted the worst ethnic clashes in the country´s history yet following the disputed general elections (BBC, 2017).

On the education front, Kenya has had its own share of history in formal and informal education. The first evidence of education in Kenya traces from a 1728 Swahili manuscript titled ´Utendi wa Tambuka´ (Book of Heraclius). Thereafter, Kenya had to wait another century to experience the beginning of formal education when the first missionary school was
built in Rabai in 1846. Two Centuries later and Kenya is now as good a player as any other in the delivery of globally competitive education. The most interesting fact about the Kenyan education is the fact that the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development is currently (as of October, 2017) on the piloting phase of a new competency-based curriculum that will signify the death of the 8-4-4 system which has stood since 1985.

The New Curriculum Currently on the Piloting Phase

1. Curriculum Content

The Kenyan National Curriculum is aimed at delivering globally competitive education, research and innovation systems for sustainable development. The Ministry of Education is charged with the task of coordinating and providing quality education that is relevant to the demands of the production systems. It discharges its mandate through the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).

KICD´s core values including Teamwork, professionalism, Integrity, Innovation, Creativity and Trust (KICD, 2017) always serve to inspire the research-based and dynamic policy institution. KICD is responsible for designing the curriculum content and supplying the curriculum-based materials including textbooks, electronic learning materials and other support materials.

The National Curriculum is, as it must be, sensitive to the various needs of the multi-ethnic society that Kenya is and works in line with the values of the different cultures and religions. As such, in addition to the academic subjects including science and mathematics that are taught primarily in English, subjects like native languages(mother-tongue), life skills, humanities, religion and creative arts are taught in pre-primary and primary levels of education. Swahili language (The National language and symbol of National Unity) is also taught in Primary and secondary schools as a compulsory subject area.

Kenyan Education System is divided into Pre-Primary, Primary, Secondary and College levels (University) in that order. This forms the famous 8-4-4 system. 

The content for the higher education levels especially the University are NOT standardized by KICD unless called upon via special request. As of present, the programs offered in Kenyan Universities are independently vetted and approved by the University Senate. Efforts are, however, ongoing to transfer the vetting and approval of University Programs to the Commission for University Education (CUE). This is in an effort to harmonize the programs offered in all Universities in Kenya as well as get rid of the biases involved when the Universities vet their own programs.

2. Assessment and Qualifications

Assessment criteria for basic education follows the standards set by KICD and implemented by the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC). Pre-primary and lower primary school pupils are excluded from standardized National Examinations. These young children are evaluated via continuous assessments issued by their class teachers to determine progress and move them through the grade levels.

High-stakes National Examinations are offered at the Class 8 (8th Grade) and at form four (12th Grade) levels. The Class 8 students are examined on five subjects (Maths, Science, English, Kiswahili, Social Studies and Religion). The exams offered annually and that run for three days comprise of multiple choice questions except for English Composition and Swahili Insha. Students who obtain 250 marks out of the possible 500 are guaranteed a place in secondary schools. The ones below that mark are encouraged to enroll in Vocational Institutes. 

At secondary level, the students are again universally examined via a National Examination - Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) - after four years of learning ( in Form Four).

Moi Girls Students Sitting a Past KCSE Exam
Image: Tuko.co.ke

The Subject areas are expanded in secondary level of education from the initial five in Primary and up to 12 in most schools. The subject areas are grouped into Sciences (Maths, Chemistry, Physics and Biology), Compulsory Languages (English and Swahili), Humanities (History, Religion, Geography) and Technical Subjects (Agriculture, Business Studies, Art and Craft, Homescience and Computer Studies). Any one of the optional languages also form the examinable subjects (French, German and Arabic). Grade C+ (45/84 points) and above in the KCSE guarantees a student entry into the University while students below that are admitted into middle-level colleges and polytechnics depending on the grade attained. 

3. National Framework

Figure 1: The 8-4-4 System of Education

All Kenyan Children are entitled to Free and Compulsory Primary Education in line with UNDP´s MDGs (Millennium Development Goals). 

The 8-4-4 system applies for the students who go through the Public as well as most private school in Kenya. Pre-primary education (not indicated in the figure 1) is a requirement for a student to be admitted in Class one. Lower Primary (Class 1-4) learning is supervised by the Class teacher. Upper Primary (Class 5-8) involves various subject teachers and the learning becomes more intense. Number of weekly lessons increase from 20 in lower classes to 30 in upper classes. In Secondary Education the Classes increase in intensity even more to 40 lessons per week. 

University learning is not regulated by the KICD. The University professors, University Council as well as the National Universities regulatory body (Commission for University Education) take charge of the education planning, delivery and control in such higher education levels. 

4. Inspection

Inspection of the Education Process in Kenya occurs at the micro- meso- and macro- levels. The Kenya Institute for Curriculum Development takes charge of the inspection duties with help from other players in the Educational sector. The Teachers Service Commission (TSC), for instance, recently introduced the termly Teacher Performance Appraisal as a control tool in education. 

Inspectors from KICD county and district headquarters occasionally visit the various schools to monitor the progress of the introduced methodologies and other educational materials. This is sometimes done on impromptu basis to ensure the schools are exercising the recommended curricula delivery techniques at all times. 

5. Pedagogy

Juliet Mtatiro teaching CRE at Starehe Boys Center, Kenya
Image: education.uonbi.ac.ke

The Most commonly used teaching method at all levels of Education in Kenya is the traditional transmission approach where the teacher is responsible for all the learning that goes on. Student participation is highly encouraged but does not function as the fundamentally espoused principle. Student participation in classroom teaching is left to choice and group work is only adopted at the students level and not strengthened as much by the teacher. KICD however continues to encourage the teachers to adopt learner-centered teaching approaches to improve the quality of the learning that occurs. University learning in Kenya is, however much more learner-centered as students are sufficiently involved in the learning process through assignments and continuous assessment tests throughout the semester. 

 

6. Special Needs Education

Students with Special needs have the right to quality Education in Kenya just like their peers. It has however proved really difficult to cater for the wide range of special needs in the country as the country keeps struggling with more pressing concerns like hunger and drought. In spite of the challenges, the Kenyan government has set up considerably well equipped educational facilities for the Blind and deaf children.

All Inclusive Pre-school
Image: Kenya Institute of Special Education

A research conducted by African Population and Health Research Center in December 2016 shows that the Country is still lagging way behind in determining and catering for the special needs of learners. The lack of data by the Ministry of Education on the numbers of special needs students especially in slum settlements has made it really difficult for the government to reach and cater for their needs (African Population and Health Research Center, 2016). Furthermore, a research by the same organization in 2013 also showed that up to 59% of teachers in the informal settlements in six major Towns lack the knowledge in the basic subject areas, let alone in responding to special needs. There´s however some hope at the end of the tunnel as all-inclusive schools such as Littlerock ECD Center have begun to spring signifying the beginning of a new, all-inclusive era of education. 

7. Language Minorities, Migrants and Minority Students

Kenyan Curriculum is delivered in English which is considered well-written by all the tribes in Kenya. It is the second (or even third) language for all the tribes and thereby serves as a common ground for all students. However, students from the neighboring war-tone Country of Somalia who seek refuge in Kenya create a migrant and minority situation - Kenya currently has the largest  refugee camp in the world (CNN, 2017). Their widely spoken languages are the Somali language and Arabic and are as such at a disadvantage when they wish to adapt to the Kenyan education system. As all the curricula in Kenya are delivered in English, the migrants and language minorities are encouraged to learn some basic English before fully integrating into the local schools. Lower Primary education is mostly conducted in local languages and this is a little advantage to the migrants.

8. Professional Development

Teachers are the most important human resource in any country (Kiige & Atina, 2016). Their professional development in Kenya is thereby one of the most well thought out process among all the professions. The Early Childhood teachers as well as Primary School teachers are trained in dedicated Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) and must attain the qualifications set by the Teacher Service Commission before being handed a TSC Certificate that authorizes him/her to seek for employment in any of the Primary Schools or ECDs in the Country. Some degree courses as well as diploma Courses are also offered at University level for the ECD and Primary School teachers. An example is a Bachelor´s degree in Early Childhood Education which is offered in most Public Universities. 

Secondary School teachers on the other hand must be holders of a Bachelor of Education degree from a recognized University. The degree programs are offered based on Subject combinations (e.g. Maths/Chemistry, Biology/Agriculture, English/Literature and so on). The teachers are also trained on psychology and sociology courses during their degree programs. Holders of Bachelor of Science degrees can also partake a short post graduate diploma in Education (PGDE) program if they wish to join the teaching profession in Kenya. After successful completion of the programs and a successful internship (referred to as Teaching Practice) the teacher is awarded a TSC Certificate and as such allowed into the teaching Profession. Teacher workshops and in-service training programs are also facilitated occasionally to improve the teachers´ delivery. The most notable and most successful in-service trainings for teachers in Kenya are the SMASSE (Strengthening of Mathematics and Sciences in Secondary Schools) project which is an annual one week seminar for Mathematics and Sciences subjects for secondary School teachers and the CEMASTEA (Center for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa) project which have both been of huge success in the in-service training for the teachers.

University lecturers are holders of at least a PhD degree in the area of interest. However, due to the inadequacy of Professors and PhD holders in Kenya, Universities sort the help of teaching assistants and tutorial fellows to assist the lecturers in the teaching. Conferences and seminars organized occasionally by Universities help the Professors and PhD holders a great deal in better Curriculum delivery in higher Education Institutions. 

9. Institutional Development

Growth of public basic learning institutions is the duty of the Government in conjunction with the school management. Most public schools are community-owned and as such the establishments are originally laid by the local communities and sponsoring religious group. The government later takes over the developmental tasks, especially in Primary Schools, and monitors the developments process. Some select schools across the country have been chosen as centers of excellence and as such designed with state-of-the-art systems to match international standards. Infrastructural development in private primary and secondary schools is solely the task of the owners of the schools.

Higher learning centers are developed by the efforts of the University management with minimal supervision from the education ministry.

10. Institutional Forms and Structure

Most public day pre-primary, primary and secondary schools in Kenya are located in community donated land. They are thus located more or less in the same spacious area of land and share some facilities like the sports fields and a recreation site. As such, space for construction of classes and other facilities is never much of a problem to the schools. However, these construction efforts are always limited by the financial prowess of the schools. Most public schools in Kenya often experience slow growth of infrastructure especially in rural areas. National and county boarding schools are, on the other hand, well established and in sufficient space. The resources are well allocated in most National (highest rated) schools and some hold upto and over 1200 students. 

Classrooms in most Kenyan rural schools host up to and beyond 50 students per stream and are as such considered crowded. This is a sad situation considering that the schools are sufficiently spacious and could comfortably hold way more buildings and as such lower the student crowding of classrooms. The primary schools are divided into lower classes (class 1-3), middle school (classes 4 and 5) and upper primary school (Class 6-8). Secondary education is separated into two stages of two years each (lower and upper secondary school).

Most public Universities in Kenya are spacious and the University management are currently doing really well to make use of the spaces to expand on the classroom availability as well as new hostels. A good example is Kenyatta University which lies on 1000 acres of land and has used much of the land to construct hostels, mega shopping mall, innovations center, lecture buildings and even a referral hospital among others.

11. Allied Social Measures

All public schools in Kenya deliver their curricula in strict sensitivity to the surrounding social groups including the communities. The learning that takes place must be aligned to the cultures and religious beliefs around the schools. Better still, life skill learning has been incorporated into the Kenyan Curriculum in order to strengthen the moral values in the learners. Guidance and Counseling is also an important part of the Kenyan school system as comprehensive guidance has been determined to help shape the students´ acquired behavior and attitudes. Finally, some common programs have been introduced in University Education that help address the growing concern of deviance among students. Programs teaching in HIV/AIDS and Drug abuse have been incorporated into the University Curriculum.

In line with UNESCO´s policy on Education for Sustainable Development, Kenya´s Ministry of education developed a policy paper on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) that, beside the pressing calls for quality education in Kenya, advocate for a public awareness campaign through the schools. The ESD project necessitated the formation of formal and non-formal activities in the schools that help create awareness on the pressing economic, societal and environmental challenges. Such programs as Kenya Green University
Network (KGUN) have since been developed via the ESD collaborative policy. KGUN collaborates with the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) to foster engagement between community and the Universities towards environmental conservation (MOE, 2017).

12. Funding

Most Public Schools in Kenya are funded by the Kenyan Government with support from both local as well as Global Educational Partners. Some of the International partners include the African Development Bank, the World Bank, UNESCO, Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA) Danish International Development Agency and the Global Education Fund (Global Education Fund, 2017). The local partners include NGOs like The Aga Khan Foundation, Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), The Kenya Education Fund and the Wings to Fly project by Equity Bank Limited. The funding by NGOs mainly targets the bright yet financially challenged households. Primary Education is free and compulsory for all students and the Government has, as well, subsidized the secondary school fees ().

Education in Public Universities has also been greatly subsidized by the government for the high performing students in KCSE who gain University admission via the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS). All students admitted to the Public Universities (Government or Self-Sponsored) in the mean time have access to the Higher Education Loans from the Government to assist offset the fee burdens.

13. Governance

Primary and Secondary school governance in Kenya are highly centralized. Policy decisions from the national level are trickled down to the schools for implementation and as such the autonomy of schools are not so highly regarded. The National Government enforce control ton schools through the county and county and sub-county educational offices. However, at the meso and micro levels, the school board of management (BOM) is responsible for the school management and development. They decide how the finances sent to schools by the government or the fees paid by the parents are allocated to long or short term projects. They also make higher level management decisions including strategic planning for the school and set the schools vision, mission and core values. These must however be in line with the policies and statutory regulations from the ministry of Education .

At the University level, the governance and policy decisions are left to the University Council, headed by the Chancellor. The Commission for University Education overviews the higher education and ensures that the Universities comply with the quality assurance demands. They perform the accreditation of Universities and University Programs as well as ensuring accountability. The Universities are however autonomous in their governance and curriculum implementation processes.

14. Results of Recent International Assessment

The ranking of Kenyan higher education system globally is not that positive thus far. In the recent ranking of World Universities by Times Higher Education, Kenya only managed to have one university represented in the Top 15 Universities in Africa while countries like South Africa and Egypt dominated the rankings (Times Higher Education, 2016; Top Universities, 2017). Recent SACMEQ II survey of reading and mathematics achievement scores of Southern and Eastern African countries placed Kenya in a respectable position ahead of educational elites like South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Kenya competes really well with highly placed countries like Mauritius and Seychelles (Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality, 2012). A sample table from the SACMEQ II data pool showing 5 respectable Southern and Eastern African Countries´ achievement scores is seen below.

Country	Mean Score for Reading	Mean Score for Mathematics
Tanzania	578	553
Seychelles	575	551
Kenya	543.1	557.0
Botswana	534.6	520.5
Zimbabwe	507.7	519.8
South Africa	495	495

Table 1: Comparing the Reading and Mathematics mean scores in select Southern and Eastern Countries - Courtesy of SACMEQ

15.  School Failure and Dropout Rate

The Institute of Economic affairs Kenya released saddening statistics in 2015 about the dropout rates of students from primary schools in Kenya since the inception of the Free Primary school program in 2003. The report as posted in the Daily Nation Newspaper (Daily Nation Newspaper, 2015) indicated that of the over 1.3 million students who joined primary schools in 2003, only 875,300 (67.3%) made it to the final grade in Primary school. The report also noted that the numbers of students who proceeded to the 12th grade declined further with the completion rate dropping to just 50% in Secondary Education. This is a growing concern in the Republic as the literacy levels keep dwindling and crime rate rising.

16. Accountability Arrangements

School managements and the educational administrators have to strictly adhere to the values of transparency and ethics. The education system being co-funded by the government and donors from the international community means that the accountability must be observed in handling the finances and resources supplied. Annual, Semi-annual and sometimes even termly audits are conducted by the Kenya Institute for Curriculum Development to ensure the schools are compliant with the transparency demands. Wastage and failure to account for the resources may lead to legal action against the school administration. Various reports, however, suggest that the Kenyan Educational system has been pulled back on several occasions by rampant corruption in the Education sector. Case in point is when the British Government withdrew their funding of the FPE Program due to what they termed ´risk of fraud´.

17. Selection and Gate-keeping

The requirements for transition into higher learning institutions are specified by the ministry of education. National Examinations are done by candidates in Class 8 and Form Four annually and their performance in those examinations determine whether they will proceed to the next level of education. The pass mark for admission into secondary school was previously strictly position at the average aggregate marks (250/500). This was however relaxed and as of today about 98% percent of students who sit their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education find themselves places in Secondary level. The grades set for admission into University level in Kenya currently stands at Grade C+ (minimum 46 out of the possible 84 Points).

References

African Population and Health Research Center. (2016). Challenges facing special needs education in Kenya. Retrieved from http://aphrc.org/post/7526. Accessed 24.10.2017

BBC. (2017). Kenya country profile. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13681341. Accessed 24.10.2017

Daily Nation. (2015). High dropout rates in Kenyan primary schools worrying. Retrieved from http://www.nation.co.ke/news/education/Primary-schools-dropout-rates-Kenya/2643604-2930304-sm2nvf/index.html. Accessed 24.10.2017

Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development. (2017). Basic Education. Retrieved from https://www.kicd.ac.ke/services/basic-education.html. Accessed 24.10.2017

Times Higher Education. (2016). Best universities in Africa. Retrieved from https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/best-universities-in-africa-2016#survey-answer. Accessed 24.10.2017

Top Universities. (2017). Top Universities in Africa. Retrieved from https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings-articles/world-university-rankings/top-universities-africa. Accessed 24.10.2017