New curriculum to make wholesome students - Matiang'i

Education Secretary Fred Matiang'i. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

The government is keen to give students a wider vision of life by exposing them to many subjects as possible, Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has said.

Dr Matiang’i said that through the basic education curriculum, education policymakers want students to become wholesome.

“We want students to have multiple skills that will help them cope with the complexity of life,” he said during a meeting with 100 students who are beneficiaries of the Pupils Reward Scheme (PURES Village) at Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).

PURES is a mentorship programme that enables top students in high schools from across the country to experience what it is like at State House, the country’s seat of ultimate political power and authority.

A student, Alex Kimutai from Alliance High School, had asked the minister why the ministry exposed students to many subjects when some of the subjects were not core to the careers and professions they wanted to pursue after high school.

EXAMINATION SUPERVISION

Dr Matiang’i also assured the students that the strict supervision of national examinations ensured that the measurement and testing of educational outcomes were to global standards.

“Honest and hard work is the pillar of success in life and the credibility of the national examinations guarded these crucial values that underpin life everywhere,” said the CS.

Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge underscored the importance of a broader curriculum, saying students ought to learn many things to appreciate the many talents they had.

But Dr Njoroge said character is the pillar upon which all other things they do depend.

The beneficiaries of the programme are usually taken around ministries and government agencies to learn about the foundations and operations of various organs of government.