On Friday, 24th January 2020, Kibabii University played host to Professor Laban Peter Ayiro, Vice Chancellor Daystar University in what was dubbed “Induction on new Pedagogical Skills Towards appreciating the Competence Based Curriculum (CBC)”. Professor Ayiro, a Professor of Research Methods is a renowned authority in curriculum review in Kenya. In his sessional paper released in 2019, he champions for the upscaling of the traditional 8-4-4 system of education to a competence based 2-9-3-3 system.
It is in this view that the Faculty of Education and Social sciences organized the one-day workshop to lay bare the discourse on this trending topic of curriculum review in the country. The workshop was attended by management, faculty, staff and students of Kibabii University. In his four-hour talk, Professor Ayiro gave a detailed account on the need for the curriculum review stressing that the CBC curriculum puts more emphasis on the mind and body;
“To succeed in the 21st Century, we must go back to basics” Prof. Ayiro emphasizes.
According to him, to position Kenya in a global economy, CBC was a game changer as world opportunities in this Century looked at learners with application capabilities than mere academic certificates.
“Jobs in developed nations keep getting leaner and leaner with emphasis on research and development, creative design, constant learning, skill building and demand a high sense of team work. On the other hand, jobs in less developed nations lay emphasis on mass production, occasional learning and low interest in skill building,”
He challenged learners to concentrate on shaping character in their areas of learning and in private lives.
“Character is judged by what you do when no is supervising. For example, someone who does not spread his bed shall never become anything in this world!”
With regard to higher education, Professor Ayiro challenged the Universities to prioritize introduction of core subjects that lay emphasis in character and competence; reading and language, mathematics, civic literacy, health and wellness, business and entrepreneurship, environmental awareness among others.
“To succeed in the 21st Century, you must dig deep. Students and staff must avoid instant gratification”
Kibabii University Vice Chancellor Prof. Ipara Odeo expressed his gratitude to the Professor for honouring the invitation and promised a longer partnership with Daystar University. He observed that Kibabii University was already gearing up to new developments to cut a niche in emerging trends and had started winning grants to drive it.
“We are setting up a multi-million ICT hub that will see us play in the big league on innovations and competence-based learning” Prof. Ipara noted.
