A three-judge bench has declined to stop the rollout of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
The bench said that halting the CBC would disrupt the education system, basing its decision on the interests of children.
On Thursday, Justices Hedwig Ongundi, John Chigiti, and Antony Ndung’u stated that stopping the CBC would infringe upon children’s rights. They expressed satisfaction that the shift to CBC is essential to provide learners with necessary skills.
The bench dismissed a petition filed by lawyer Nelson Havi, ruling that he had not proven his case. It dismissed Havi’s allegations that there was no public participation.
The court found that there was significant engagement with education stakeholders, faith-based organizations, and the public, thus achieving the required public participation.
“It is evident that the Competency-Based Curriculum has already been rolled out the teachers have undergone training, and the government has already set out finances for the implementation. Stopping implementation will cause havoc in the education system,” the judges said.
“The best interest of the child is paramount consideration a court must do everything to preserve the rights of the minor,” the court noted.
The court decided that scrapping the CBC would lead to job losses and waste the public resources already invested in its rollout.
“What will be the results of nullifying the CBC…will it be in the best interest of the child to make him forget what he has learnt to learn something else?” Court posed.
The three-judge bench further noted that there is no evidence that the CBC recruits children into child labor, stating that the shift to CBC is necessary to ensure learners acquire essential skills.
However, the judges have ordered the Education CS to amend the education laws to align with the CBC structure within 120 days.
They also directed the Ministry of Education to set up a committee for implementing the CBC report.
