What is Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in Kenya?

Are you a teacher?

Or a parent?

Or a student?

And, let me believe, you’re interested in the much-talked-about Kenya’s CBC.

So why CBC?

Well, that’s because in the recent years Kenyans have been questioning the value of education to society, particularly the 8-4-4 objective-based curriculum.

Is secondary school a good investment?

What is the value of a college certificate?

How useful is a college diploma?

And how has the increasingly large number of University graduates helped develop the nation?

Apart from these questions, education has generally become too expensive in Kenya.

Then, sadly, at the end of it, there are too few formal jobs. Hence, the high unemployment rate.

Besides, businesses and employers in Kenya have for decades felt that those they hire fall short of their needs. That graduates do not meet desired qualifications and are ill-equipped to perform their jobs.

So, with these many issues, something had to give.

Something had to change.

And CBC has been considered the solution to these challenges.

What is Competency-Based Curriculum?

The Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in Kenya refers to an education model that organizes content in a way that enables learners to do what they learn.

In CBC, learners acquire knowledge, skills, abilities, and dispositions, which they can immediately apply.

The curriculum emphasizes what learners know and can do rather than what they can recall.

In Kenya, the Competency-Based Curriculum was designed by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD). It was then launched by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in 2017.

What is the importance of CBC in Kenya?

1. It is geared towards enhanced transition and lowering learner dropout levels

Kenya has had a policy of universal transition from primary school to secondary school. Then 100-percent transition policy has ensured that most learners complete basic education.

However, the 8-4-4 system has been associated with high dropout rates after form-four, with up to 70-percent of form-four leavers not able to proceed to a middle-level college.

And even with increasing numbers of Technical and Vocational Training colleges in Kenya, only few form-four leavers end up in the colleges.

Now as a solution, the CBC aims to ensure an almost 100-percent transition to colleges and universities. The curriculum is designed to give every learner a chance to pursue a specific strand in Senior Secondary School, which will eventually aid transition to a college or university.

2. A solution to workforce shortcomings

Right from Early Years Education (EYE) to Senior Secondary School (SSS), the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in Kenya has the necessary workforce competencies as the outcomes of learning.

For instance:

Learners in Early Years Education (EYE) are expected to master:

a. Communication and collaboration

b. Critical thinking and problem solving

c. Imagination and creativity

d. Citizenship

e. Self-efficacy

f. Digital literacy

These skills are to be assessed throughout their learning years. And so by the time they graduate from Senior Secondary School, the learners have acquired the competencies aligned to the needs and demands of the job market.

Now since the CBC system also allows 100-percent transition to college, these students will get another chance to attend a Competency-Based Training, making them much better equipped for the job market.

So CBC is poised to bridge the gap between Kenya’s education and its workforce needs. And to become the solution to the widening gap between postsecondary education and workforce requirements.

3. An arsenal in the fight against corruption and social ills

Kenya’s 2010 Constitution has a whole chapter, Chapter 6, on integrity. But implementing the chapter has been a big challenge, almost to the point of failure.

With CBC, values and integrity has a whole is now part of the curriculum. And learners are going to be assessed throughout their education on how well they can apply values in real-life situations.

So over the years, Kenya will be able to have a citizenry that has been educated to live and act with integrity in all spheres of life.

This will boost the fight against corruption, improve coexistence between the tribes of Kenya, lower tribal tensions and animosities often associated with pre-and post-election periods, and boost the unity of the people of Kenya.

Of course, the curriculum shift alone will not slay the dragons of corruption and tribalism, but it will go a long way in that fight.

4. It will eventually lower the cost of education

In 2023, earning a college certificate costs more than KSH 50,000. A college diploma costs more than KSH 100, 000. And a university degree costs at least KSH 250,000.

With Kenya’s largely poor population living below a dollar a day, education is becoming increasingly unaffordable and inaccessible.

But with CBC, college level education is about to reduce to a competency-based training focused on specific competencies relevant in various fields. This ensures that training resources can be focused only on what aids trainees to acquire those competencies, instead of spending on broad knowledge.

Eventually, CBC will not just aid the transition process, but also reduce the cost of acquiring a college certificate, diploma, or degree.

5. It makes learning quicker and more flexible

With CBC, learning can occur anywhere anytime, and is a continuous process. Based on this principle, CBC encourages flexible learning schedules and allows students to master competencies at their own pace and speed.

Though Kenya’s Primary and Secondary School CBC is founded on age-based transition, it still requires students to advance only after gaining specific competencies.

Which means, the quicker they acquire the competencies the faster they can advance. In later stages of learning, such as in Senior Secondary School and during competency-based training in colleges, this will reduce the time a student can take to complete a level, earn a credential, or advance.

How is the competency-based curriculum different from the traditional objective-based approach?

Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC)	Traditional Objective-Based Curriculum
Targets mastery of competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes, dispositions)	Targets completion of syllabus or course of content
Outcome based	Time based
Active learning	Passive learning
Integrated curriculum	Fragmented curriculum
Lots of collaboration	Learning mostly in isolation
Research driven and performance based	Textbook driven
Student centered	Teacher centered
Authentic assessments over the course of learning	One-time exams or projects
Teaching done by lectures, projects, labs, publicly available resources, textbooks, and online or digital resources	Teaching by lectures, textbooks, projects, labs, and discussions
Predominantly Multimedia	Predominantly print
High-order thinking	Facts and memorization

What are the beliefs the underlie CBC?

CBC is a mode of education inspired by the basic reason for schooling.

Which is:

How well can learners develop deeper knowledge and skills that they can apply or transfer to other academic levels, workplace, or to new, unfamiliar contexts beyond the classroom.

So the primary goal of learning under CBC is deeper learning, not faster or wider learning.

That is, how well can students acquire specific competencies, which they need for real-life situations?

The core beliefs of CBC include:

1. Educational equity

With CBC, it is believed that every student can and should learn.

What all students need to develop their full academic and social potential is an environment that trusts, challenges, and supports them to learn. So as key stakeholders, parents and teachers can ensure all learners achieve high outcomes by removing the economic, social, and cultural barriers that determine success or failure.

Plus, all learners have unique talents, gifts and interests that need to be discovered and nurtured.

2. Uniqueness of every learner

Though every child can learn, they do so in different ways and at different speeds and timeframes.

The learning environment should therefore respond to the specific needs of every learner.

Every learner needs a personalized and innovative approach, timely support, and individualized pacing to achieve deeper learning.

3. Relevant learning

The content taught to learners should come with skills and dispositions to enable easy application in real-life situations.

So CBC encourages learning that shapes and reinforces:

a. Growth mindset

b. Self-efficacy

c. Critical thinking and problem solving

d. Habits of success in the 21st century

e. Social emotional learning

Generally, the core competencies of CBC are:

a. Communication and collaboration

b. Critical thinking and problem solving

c. Imagination and creativity

d. Citizenship

e. Learning to learn

f. Self-efficacy

g. Digital literacy

While the core values are:

a) Love

b) Responsibility

c) Respect

d) Unity

e) Peace

f) Patriotism

g) Integrity

4. Transparency

A transparent education is one which has learning objectives and outcomes that are clear and known to those involved from the start.

In CBC, learning objectives and outcomes are clearly stated in the curriculum design for every learning level.

And the knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes to be mastered at every level are:

a. Explicit

b. Measurable

c. Transparent

d. Transferrable

Now, the modes of assessing these expectations are also clearly stated. This enables the development of a culture of accountability in learning.

5. Collaborative and socially embedded

Lastly, CBC is inspired by the belief that students can be empowered each day to make decisions about their learning experiences, how to create and apply knowledge, and how to demonstrate learning.

And by the fact that whatever is learnt can be applied directly in real-life. Such that learning tasks are performance-driven and students can demonstrate their learning by doing, rather than by telling.

Plus, the competencies come with values that empower learners to coexist with others and to enjoy meaningful, fulfilling relationships with fellow citizens.

Want to learn more about the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in Kenya? Or would you like simple, effective CBC learning resources to help your child or student excel?

Visit the site https://bestcbckenya.blogspot.com for more information on CBC in Kenya.