The new curriculum has come with a few changes, especially
in the
examination structure for primary and secondary school students.
MoE List Of New Subjects For CBC Learners.
PRE-PRIMARY (PP1 AND PP2)
Five learning areas with a number of lessons
1) Language Activities 5
2) Mathematics Activities 5
3) Creative Activities 6
4) Environmental Activities 5
5) Religious Activities 3
6) Pastoral Programme of Instruction (PPI) 1
TOTAL 25
LOWER PRIMARY (GRADE 1, 2 AND 3)
Seven learning areas with number of lessons
(A reduction from 8 to 7 activity areas)
1) Indigenous Language
2) Kiswahili
3) Mathematics
4) English
5) Religous Education
6) Environmental Activities (to include Hygiene and
Nutrition activities)
7) Creative Activities
UPPER PRIMARY (GRADE 4, 5 AND 6)
Eight learning areas with number of lessons
(A total of 8 learning areas from the previous 11)
1) English
2) Mathematics
3) Kiswahili
4) Religious Education
5) Agriculture and Nutrition (merging of Agriculture and
Home Science)
6) Social studies
7) Creative Arts (merging of Creative Arts, Music and PHE)
8) Science and Technology
JUNIOR SECONDARY (GRADE 7, 8 AND 9)
Nine learning areas all compulsory with no optional subjects
1) Social Studies has been merged with Life skills
2) Agriculture merged with Home Science
3) Integrated Science merged with Health Education
4) Pre technical studies, Computer Studies merged with
Business studies
5) Visual arts, Performing Arts , Sports and PE merged.
6) Mathematics
7) English
8) Kiswahili
9) Religious Education
NOTE No new books will be printed in Grade 7 the educator will
be required to get content from the previous learning areas book supplied in
2023.
How Assessments will be administered from Pre-Primary to Secondary
Pre-primary
Assessment at the pre-primary level will be administered by
classroom teachers to inform not only learning progress but also assess
readiness for transition to Primary school and advice on required interventions
and appropriate placement, especially for children with special needs as well
as the talented and gifted.
In addition, KNEC will be responsible for building the
capacities of teachers to develop the assessment tools.
Grade 1 to 3
Assessment at this primary level will be mainly formative.
In Grades 1 to 3, teachers will conduct classroom
assessments, and at Grade3, KNEC will develop a standardized assessment tool to
be administered, scored, and feedback given to individual learners by teachers
in their respective schools.
The schools will then submit the results for each learner in
a designated format to KNEC to facilitate analysis of the achievement of
competencies at the national level.
The report from KNEC will guide the teachers receiving the transition Grade 4 and
advise TSC in developing content for continuous teacher professional
development that targets areas.
Further, KICD will use the report to develop instructional
resources that target areas that learners find challenging.
KICD will also use the report to revise the curriculum in
cases where assessment reports reveal that the curriculum could be the cause of
weak achievement.
Grades 4, 5 and 6
Assessment in Upper Primary will align to a policy governing
the balance between formative and summative to assess comprehensively the
mastery of multifarious competencies of different learners as well as
facilitate placement of learners in Junior Secondary School.
The mode of assessment will entail a combination of
teacher-administered formative assessment in Grades 4, 5, and 6, and a
summative assessment to be administered by KNEC at the end of Grade 6.
The proposed weighting is 60% for formative i.e Each exam
will carry 20 percent of the final mark. This means the three CATs will
cumulatively account for 60 percent of the final score.
The remaining 40 percent will be from the Kenya National Examination Council
exam to be administered at the end of Grade 6.
The summative assessment is prompted by the need to allow
learners from across the country to access schools that have the superior
infrastructure and a culture of good performance, thus enhancing equity.
Junior and Senior Secondary school
The assessments will be both formative and summative at the
end of the cycle.
The Junior Secondary School assessment will facilitate
placement in Senior Secondary School Pathways and Tracks, while the Senior
Secondary School assessment will facilitate transition into Tertiary and
University Education and Training.
At Senior Secondary School, learners will have the
opportunity to do dual certification by enrolling for TVET qualifications,
depending on their abilities and career interests.
Learners with Disabilities and Special Needs
Assessment of Learners with Disabilities and Special Needs,
including the gifted and talented, will be determined by the nature and
severity of the disability and special need.
For learners with the ability to follow the regular
curriculum, KNEC will adapt the assessment items, while also providing appropriate
time during assessment administration for learners with disabilities.
For those unable to follow the regular curriculum, KNEC will
develop a policy for various types of assessments that document the stage based
abilities and fast-tracking of competencies among the gifted learners.
The new Department to coordinate the CBC implementation
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday, February 9, unveiled
a state department to oversee the ongoing implementation of the
Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC).
The new State Department for Implementation of Curriculum
Reforms within the Ministry of Education has been tasked with the rollout of
the new education system including recommendations of a task force whose report
the President launched.
"The Taskforce has made several recommendations and
consulted widely including through 11 sector-based pre-conferences. This is
important because it underscores my Administration’s commitment to adhere to
the tenets of public participation, as envisioned in our constitution.
"In this regard, to ensure effective implementation of
these recommendations, and other curriculum reforms, I have on this 9th Day of
February 2021 set my hand and presidential seal and established a new State
Department for Implementation of Curriculum Reforms vested in the Ministry of
Education," President Kenyatta declared.
Teachers Plan in CBC implementation
The task force recommended a Pre-Service Competency Based
Teacher Education (CBTE) which will provide the education sector with a
valuable opportunity to train teachers on the CBC approach.
The task force recommended:
1. MoE should ensure all tutors in pre-service teacher
education training colleges are inducted on effective interpretation and
implementation of the teacher education curriculum framework and designs.
2. MoE, CUE and Universities should review and align the
Teacher Education programmes to CBC and CBA and build the capacity of all
university teacher educators in line with the aspirations of CBC.
3. MoE, KICD and KNEC should develop guidelines for
microteaching and practicum in Teacher Education that will extend the practicum
period to a minimum of two school terms.
4. KNEC to design a framework for implementing CBA in
Preservice Teacher Education CBA for both formative and summative assessment.
5. KICD to develop a Certificate Course for Teacher
Educators.
6. TSC to develop career progression guidelines for teacher
educators for TTCS.
7. TSC to review Continuous Teacher Professional Development
(CTPD) performance appraisal systems to align them to the dictates of CBC.
8. MoE, TSC, teacher unions, headteachers and principals’ associations, and universities will establish a joint educators’ professional regulatory body.