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#CurriculumReformsKE: A reform led by a British tour guide and a curriculum provided by a Japanese NGO

1/5/2017

17 Comments

 
Picture"Family ride," by Steven Mbatia. Source: True African Art.com
It is now clear that the mainstream media is not going to sustain a conversation about the new curriculum whose pilot starts tomorrow. Compared to the party primaries dominating the news, thinking about education is dull. With elections on the other hand, the tension is palpable. Votes need to be counted within a day or so, then winners dance, and losers cry foul. All within a day’s work.  
​
But with education, you’re asking people to think about their children’s lives for the first 25 years, and to consider the impact of those 25 years on the rest of their children’s lives and on the life of the nation. Thinking about education is clearly not as entertaining as party primaries. ​

Education therefore doesn’t stand a chance of making the headlines, although it might happen if CS Matiang’i showed up in the public with another hard talking by-line.  However, I suspect he’s avoiding the limelight to keep education out of the public eye. And his strategy is working.

And yet, the drama of the so called new curriculum is actually quite interesting. It would even be funny, if the implications were not so serious.

PictureKICD participants in one of the activities at the Arigatou Curriculum Workshop. Source: Arigatou International
The first factor that should raise our suspicion is the fact that the curriculum is not readily available to the public. If you visit the KICD website, the link to Basic Education Curriculum Framework isn’t readily visible. I found the document only after someone said in a comment to my facebook post that I’d have to google “Kenya” and “curriculum” to get it. Even when KICD sent a belated response to my tweet asking for the curriculum, they simply gave the link to the home page, not to the document itself. 

But a more interesting story is about a guy called Peter Hall Jones, who is thanked in the framework document “for providing technical support to conceptualisation, design and development of the Framework.” Dr/Mr Jones’s involvement in the curriculum should strike us as odd.

First, he was involved in the curriculum framework thanks to guess who: the British Council. For now, I won’t go over the strange fact that the British Council is cited all over the framework, but not even one publication by the Council is listed in the bibliography. What is even stranger, though, is that it is the British Council, not the British Department of Education, which sponsored Dr/Mr Jones to play an instrumental role in the curriculum. Recall that the goal of the British Council is to promote British interests abroad through culture, and especially through the teaching of English. So from the UK’s end, its involvement in Kenya’s curriculum reform is about its cultural interests, not about education.

And when I checked Dr/Mr Jones on both the British Council and uk.gov websites, I couldn’t find his name. When I searched his name with British Council on google, the best document I could find was one indicating that he was a guide for international governments taking a tour through British schools and education bodies to learn about curriculum reform. His credentials are listed not by his expertise as a scholar of education but by his innovative approach as a teacher. He then formed an NGO called Curriculum Foundation, and also lists himself as a motivational speaker who talks about curriculum.

Whether Dr/Mr Jones is qualified to be behind a restructuring of our NATIONAL education system isn’t as important as the fact that he is someone even the British Government would not allow to tinker with their own education system. Yet that’s who the Kenyan government, which made so much noise about sovereignty during ICC trials, gave the responsibility of drafting our framework. 

So our brand new curriculum was done by a tour guide and motivational speaker. Think about that.

A side bar is that the tour of British schools is probably the same one that the TSC said gave them the idea of performance contracting for teachers. The sad part is that many British teachers and educationists have decried the damage that managerialism has done to British education, yet our ministry decided to impose the same thing on our own teachers. 

It’s like we pick the wrong ideas from Europe and plaster them here just because they’re from Europe. Think about that.

I discovered the other interesting drama thanks to a comment on my facebook posts by a Kenyan who, in the company of some leaders, tried to get the ear of KICD to offer some suggestions on the curriculum. He said the KICD official who welcomed them treated them very poorly, talking on the phone during the short few minutes they were in his office, before sending them off to juniors who couldn’t do a thing, except inform them that they would need to spend KES 6 million on conducting a workshop for the officials. 

The next day, these Kenyans heard that KICD officials were taken through a workshop by Arigatou International, a Japanese NGO based in Geneva. Apparently, Arigatou has published a document called “Learning to Live together,” which has now been mainstreamed in guess what: our education curriculum. 

So our kids are going to be taught to “live together” through a curriculum that was developed by a Japanese NGO. Think about that.

And for those  Kenyans who think “who cares, as long as my kid passes exams?” let me tell you why this idea is a literal joke. The curriculum, which you can read for yourself, has no history and doesn’t talk of justice. That means that our children will not get to understand the specific Kenyan injustices that cause us not to “live together.”  But more than that, our African stories and communities have mechanisms for conflict resolution and justice which any KICD official could have read about and incorporated in the curriculum by walking into a Kenyan university. But I guess that wouldn’t happen if the university wasn’t offering to pay millions for a workshop.

Oh, and I must mention that the KICD officials had a lot of fun at the Arigatou workshop.

​What is clearly happening in this Kenya is that while our constitution calls for public participation in issues and policies that affect us, real participation is reserved for anyone who can pay “top dollar” for workshops for civil servants. Any foreigner, from a tour guide to a NGO, can walk into a government office, sponsor a workshop, and before you know it, wananchi are being affected by policies whose origins they do not know. Yet we Africans don’t have the same kind of influence in the decisions that affect us. If chances of the greatest Kenyan expert passing through the visa process to reach the UK are slim, chances of that expert changing UK curriculum or organizing a workshop for officers in Her Majesty’s Department of Education are beyond zero (pun intended).

And yet, while her Majesty’s subjects can spearhead curriculum reform in Kenya, we Kenyans cannot participate in the reform in our own country. As I rant on facebook many times, Kenyans have told me to forward the issues I have to the relevant government bodies. But besides getting the treatment that the Kenyans got in the KICD office, I have also heard that to get onto the calendar of important government officials, their personal assistants charge a hefty sum.

And in any case, is it our job to look for government officials or is it their job to collect our views?

*

So tomorrow marks the day when a foreign-sponsored curriculum framework, with almost no African voices in it, and with outdated scholarship, will be piloted in Kenyan schools, supposedly to address 21st century issues. The hostility of some members of the Kenyan public to my concerns has been as shocking to me as the hostility to my statements about healthcare a few months ago. Some of us really don’t care what happens to our children, or what our children are taught. And when this new system fails to deliver the heaven they claim it will, the same people who do not care will blame the teachers, and the TSC will impose even stricter performance contracts. 

That is neoliberalism, Kenya edition. Where grossly uniformed decisions on fundamental social issues are made by those with money, and when problems inevitably occur, the decision makers will impose tighter supervision of professionals whose opinion should have been sought before changes were made.

The other lesson in this sad story of curriculum reform is that we need a law regulating the training or workshops which Kenyan civil servants receive from foreign governments, corporates and NGO’s. Our national integrity is being compromised by these meetings where ideologies and business deals determine the key national sectors of health, education and environment, without any public scrutiny. It should not be so easy for some unimportant fellow in Europe to walk into Kenya and make fundamental decisions with national impact, when we Kenyans can’t get a word in. 

​But surely, if a hairdresser can walk around with billions of taxpayers’ money, because she styled the hair of a client now nominated to run for governor, it is no wonder that we let foreign nobodies play such decisive roles in how we educate our own children. And our leaders can afford to be so casual about our national education because their kids attend private international curriculum schools in Kenya and abroad.

17 Comments
Christine
1/5/2017 06:47:55 pm

Thank you Wandia for this thought provoking piece. It is saddening that we as Kenyans and consequently our leaders who are an extension of ourselves continue to FEAR making choices. So, those are then passed on with the hope that the consequences of those choices will not be their responsibility (our responsibility!). What our leaders (a reflection of ourselves) need to understand is that choices made in privacy, those seemingly insignificant choices are the ones with the most impact, not the open and "big" choices on leadership being displayed at the moment in Kenya. As you say this is about the next Kenyan generation. These private choices have the ability to disempower our children for a quarter of a century and beyond....

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Wandia
1/5/2017 07:29:28 pm

I'm so perplexed Christine, at how much we don't really care. But if we find thinking about 25 years to come such a burden, why are we getting married and having children? We're promising a future which we don't really give a hoot about.

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Christine
1/5/2017 07:48:50 pm

I hear you Wandia! One of our biggest hurdles in Kenya is our fatalistic mind set. How many times do you hear that 'each child's future is already mapped out". Much as that has some truth in reality, parents and society at large also influence that child's destiny. Responsibility and accountability are "muscles' that we have not developed, let a lone a solid back bone...which is why the British tour guide and Japanese have written our current curriculum!!!

In 2012, we wananchi were given an opportunity by the then Minister, Prof. Ongeri to give some feed back about the curriculum that had been designed by a task force (full of Brits) I must add but headed by Prof. Odhiambo. I jumped at it and hosted a workshop at the Serena hotel. I was able to present the report in March 2012 and yet here we are 10 steps back in 2017. Aluta Continua Wandia! We owe it to the next generation.

Mose Mogeni
1/5/2017 08:06:48 pm

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Wangũi link
1/5/2017 09:08:09 pm

Omg.
Do you have a link to the new curriculum?

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Wandia
1/5/2017 09:30:08 pm

This is all they're sharing. So we don't know what the details are.
https://www.kicd.ac.ke/images/downloads/CURRICULUMFRAMEWORKFINAL2017.pdf

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oliver muia
1/5/2017 10:13:27 pm

This is atrocious the attitude we have to national disasters by our leaders cause they send their kids abroad we will have no history we will be at the mercy of the colonialists and this attitude showed during the healthcare debacle we are in trouble thank you Wandia for always standing up...what can I do this has got me terrified

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PK
2/5/2017 12:06:52 am

Thank you Wandia for this piece. This is an eye opener to all Kenyans as we are first and foremost all stakeholders in our education system especially as it does affect our children and many generations to come. It is good to note that we have in many areas allowed foreigners to impose their will and thoughts on us without realizing that we are allowing ourselves to be colonized all over again only this time using finances and false promises for developments that only end up leaving us in oblivion. It is sad that as teachers we were not involved in change of this magnitude yet yes at the end of every termly cycle we will be expected to fill out performance contracts detailing both content wise and statistically what the performance is and why it is that way. It is sad but as we embrace these so called astute ideas from our so called international partners why don't we go back to the basics and redefine what independence and sovereignty is. Ask ourselves why when we travel to those countries even with our highest of qualification we ate just mere immigrants but when they come to our country with the lowest of qualifications we praise them as experienced expatriates with wealth of knowledge that will have positive impact on us?? We are unfortunately digging an abyss as we stand at the very centre of it and we are negating all we fought to have in the name of partners and joining the global village. Kenyans let's rethink our lives and our future and speak up for what will affect not only our present lives but generations of the future of this great nation.

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Steve
2/5/2017 07:04:55 am

Mr. Wandia, there's a good number of us completely dissatisfied by the manner in which we are taken for a ride in whichever field, sports, education, healthcare... Etc.
Let's run, walk, crawl till we push this to the tipping point.

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Mwalimu
7/5/2017 04:33:01 pm

https://arigatouinternational.org/en/who-we-are..I though this was a French organization. I saw it working on Tana River during the Skirmishes. Is it the same as the one you have referred to.

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Kirima
13/5/2017 07:35:29 pm

Thank you for this article. I hadn't seen it like this, I'm truly embarrassed for my country and saddened for the children that will have to undergo this atrocity of a curriculum.
You are right such a major policy move should not take place without public participation, I hope the professionals in the education sector will lead the push for involvement in the review.

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LW link
16/5/2017 07:07:26 pm

Thanks for this Wandia. What we learn is who we become. What has desensitised us to each other even now is that fact that we don't appreciate the unique differences and inate similarities we bear as communities. I learnt so much about Bukusu history just the other day. It made me feel more like I belong and that my voice matters. More than before.

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Constant Cap link
20/5/2017 11:58:56 am

This is very normal.
We see the same challenge in infrastructure and development projects where local views are looked down upon at the expense of 'expert opinions' then we end up with piles of documents that take completely wrong approaches eg. urban renewal, urban mobility etc.
Another area that they will always prioritize is that of 'foreign funded mega projects' over local micro-projects that have more impact - but its quite obvious why.

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Wendy
12/6/2017 11:56:04 am

Now that you mention it, someone needs to conduct a study investigating our collective low racial esteem. The scientific results of which should be made law, or we shall continue to look down on ourselves and play into foreign interests. Since deep down, it looks like we don't believe that we can can contribute any thing of worth.

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Awuor Atieno
26/8/2017 02:09:37 am

Dr. Wandia, your blog is very re-freshing.The education one just makes one lose hope. I think that as people we have lost our epoche. It appears to me that collectively there is no hope for Africans. The only option for us is to do damage control. I have given up.!

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David Baker
18/12/2017 09:50:53 pm

Dr Peter Hall Jones "was a seconded consultant setting up the Excellence in Cities programme across Leeds and has served on a number of committees and groups within the then Department for Education, HM Treasury and The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, The Prime Minister’s Office, DEMOS and IPPR. As the Headteacher of an inner city community school he developed a national reputation for excellence around the inclusion of children with Emotional and Behavioural difficulties, engagement of parents and carers, community provision and development."

Hence his background is working with the government including with the development of our own curriculum. He has also supported schools with the role out of National Curriculum 2014 which is our current curriculum. In the UK a number of our top heads are involved in the development of our curriculum alongside civil servants. This suggests he does have quite a bit of experience in this area.

Moving on to another point and the involvement of the British Council compared to our Department for Education (DfE). I suspect this is to do with the fact that the DfE only works in our overseas territories and doesn't have a wider international role (other than observing best practice and bringing it back home). The British Council meanwhile is our international organsiation for "cultural relations and educational opportunities". In education their role is "bringing people together to share expertise and innovation, enrich and improve teaching and learning and open up new opportunities across the world." Hence the role in advising on your new curriculum fits directly into this area.

From what I have read of your new curriculum I wish we had a similar one being introduced here. It sounds like it is a true skill based curriculum which is what the leading countries in the World are using. Unfortunately I find our one still has far too much focus on specific knowledge rather than skills. (Partly because education is a political football in the UK and one of the areas that parties can be most quickly seen to make changes. We were part way through the role out of a skills based curriculum under Labour when the Tories regained power.) There is a lot though we can learn from other Countries around the World to ensure that the education system is the best possible for all our children.

As an aside I'm quite invested in your education system as we (as a family) are supporting a number of children in Kenya at various stages of their education. I certainly want the best possible outcome for them. I am also a Primary Teacher myself back home in the UK. I do hope that those helping develop the new system do understand the importance of the history of a Country and the position that it needs to play in a curriculum. Certainly education has advanced a lot since your current system was first introduced.

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Ruth
4/3/2018 10:54:51 am

Wandia, I am greatly inspired by your writing. What then can we do? I personally feel that I need to do something, but what?

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    Wandia Njoya

    African. Woman. Wife. Teacher.

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