Matungulu Sub-County Director of Education, Lilian Gitahi, has emphasized the critical role of parents in the successful implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
Speaking to the Education News at her office, Gitahi highlighted how CBC’s diverse pathways are designed to prepare students for real-world challenges while requiring active parental involvement for success.
“The CBC curriculum is transformative because it focuses on competencies and practical skills,” she said.
“Learners now have the opportunity to pursue pathways that align with their talents and career aspirations, but this cannot happen without the full support of parents.”
The CBC pathways are categorized into three main areas: Arts and Sports Science, Social Sciences, and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
Fields of interest
Each of these pathways is designed to provide learners with an opportunity to focus on specific fields of interest while building foundational knowledge and skills that align with their future career goals.
The Arts and Sports Science pathway is tailored for learners with a strong inclination toward creative and physical development. This pathway includes subjects such as music, fine arts, drama, physical education, and film production.
The Social Sciences pathway caters to students interested in humanities and business-related fields. This pathway includes subjects such as history, geography, sociology, business studies, and foreign languages.
The STEM pathway focuses on developing scientific, technological, and engineering competencies that are critical in addressing the challenges of the 21st century. This pathway includes pure and applied sciences, technical and engineering courses, and information communication technology.
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Gitahi explained that these pathways are assessed differently from traditional systems.
“Evaluation under CBC focuses on whether learners have acquired specific skills and competencies. Categories like ‘below expectation’, ‘approaching expectation’, ‘meeting expectation’ and ‘exceeding expectation’ are used, which eliminates the stigma of failure. The emphasis is on self-improvement rather than competition with others,” she noted.
She noted that the success of this system heavily depends on parents’ involvement and urged them to actively guide their children in choosing suitable pathways and to support project-based learning activities.
“Parents need to provide financial and moral support. Practical activities such as rabbit keeping, crop farming, or creative arts require resources, and these projects are essential in nurturing learners’ talents and skills,” she said.
“The CBC curriculum is a game-changer. It focuses on skills, not just grades, and will prepare students for a future that values innovation and creativity. CBC will also get rid of cut throat competition in schools that forced others to use dubious means to get good grades,” she concluded.
By Agnes Orango
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