Today, the 24th January 2023 the world is marking the 5th International Education Day. This year’s theme is “to invest in people, prioritize education”.
This day is very important as one of its main goals is to generate debate on how to strengthen education as a public endeavor and common good as well as support teachers and unlock the potential in every person to contribute to collective well-being.
This year’s celebration is an opportunity for Kenyan education stakeholders to reflect and take stock of the ongoing implementation of the new education system; Competence Based Curriculum (CBC). Despite its uniqueness and ability to transform learners into being critical thinkers and problem solvers, the system has not been favorable to a lot of schools, especially those found in north eastern Kenya.
The region faces two major challenges that are affecting the implementation of CBC, poor internet and insecurity. These two issues in addition to lack of teachers are the main challenges facing implementation of CBC in the North Eastern region (largely the pastoral community).
These challenges are coupled with cases of early marriages, high poverty rates, and to some extent radicalization of the youth and other issues bedeviling the region.
Despite these challenges, the county governments within the region have been working (singularly and collectively) to find local solutions that would help improve the level of education, increase school enrollment and developing of county action plans on prevention and countering violence extremism
The national government, county governments and other key stakeholders need to find a lasting solution to the challenges facing the progress of education in this region and make it more inclusive and equitable for all the children
Strengthening the education system for the benefit of local communities and improving the lives of teachers, while understanding digital transformation in education should not be an event but a continued dialogue until all the targets are achieved.