Matiang’i: CBC has no problem, implementation is the issue

Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has weighed in on the ongoing debate surrounding Kenya’s competency-based curriculum.

Matiang’i said the challenges bedevilling the system stem from poor implementation rather than flaws in the model itself.

CBC remains a sound and forward-looking education framework, but has suffered due to lack of strategy and continuity by the current administration, he said.

“When our brothers and sisters came into government, they brought in confusion and are now blaming it on the failed model while they have failed in the implementation,” Matiang’i said.

The former CS, who also served in the Education docket, faulted the government for failing to build on the groundwork laid by the previous administration.

He said the transition disrupted the steady rollout of the new curriculum and created uncertainty among teachers, parents and learners.

The decision to overhaul Kenya’s education system did not originate from the Jubilee administration, but was rooted in long-term national planning frameworks, Matiang’i said.

“Changing the system of education was not a [former] President [Uhuru] Kenyatta initiative; it was an idea from Vision 2030. That debate started during [former] President [Mwai] Kibaki's time. The problem we have now is implementation, not CBC,” he stated.

He warned that politicising education reforms had further complicated the rollout of CBC, adding that misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the curriculum had undermined public confidence in the system.

Matiang’i also proposed structural reforms to enhance affordability and access to education, particularly at the secondary school level.

He advocated for the expansion of day secondary schools, arguing that they would significantly reduce the cost of education while allowing learners to commute daily from home.

The former CS suggested that students should ideally attend secondary schools within their localities before seeking opportunities farther from home at the tertiary level, where exposure and integration would be more beneficial.

“A student should learn locally at secondary level and then go further away from home when joining colleges and universities to allow integration,” he said.

Matiang’i’s remarks come at a time when the CBC is facing mounting scrutiny due to persistent implementation challenges, most notably the transition of learners from junior secondary to senior secondary school.

The government has been forced to extend transition deadlines after low enrolment numbers were recorded for Grade 10 learners.

Current data indicates that about 85 per cent of eligible learners have reported to senior secondary schools, leaving roughly 15 per cent yet to enrol.

Earlier figures had placed the transition rate as low as 75 per cent, raising concerns within the education sector and prompting intensified mop-up campaigns across the country to track and enrol remaining learners.