The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) has called for an urgent review of the Curriculum-Based Education (CBE) system amid poor implementation ahead of the April 27 school reopening. Archbishop Philip Anyolo warned against treating learners as subjects in ongoing experiments.
The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) spoke to the press on April 16, warning that the current rollout of the Curriculum-Based Education (CBE) system risks turning learners into perpetual test subjects.
"We cannot place our children in a constant mode of experimentation. The government has all the technical expertise it needs locally and internationally to have streamlined the implementation of CBE long before rolling it out," said Philip Anyolo, the Archbishop of Nairobi.
The bishops urged the Ministry of Education to form a multisectoral team of experts to evaluate, redesign, and streamline the CBE nationwide.
CBE was introduced promising to foster practical skills, creativity, and critical thinking, but its rollout has exposed major shortcomings in planning, design, and funding.
"As we have come to know it, CBE requires more teachers, equipment and financing," the bishops stated, noting that many schools lack sufficient teachers, textbooks, labs, and infrastructure.
Grade 10 learners faced these issues in their first term under the system that replaced the 8-4-4 curriculum.
The church also expressed concern over the diminishing role of school sponsors under CBE.
"The rightful role of sponsors should be guaranteed for us to defend ethical and value content in the education system. We raise serious concerns that there are efforts to undermine and diminish the role of sponsors," they said.
The Catholic Church sponsors nearly 7,700 schools in Kenya, including over 5,000 primary, 1,700 secondary, and more than 200 ECD and TVET institutions.
President William Ruto has pledged increased teacher recruitment and new classroom construction to ease the challenges.