School Leaders in Junior Schools have received a major boost in implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), courtesy of a school leadership training unveiled on August 14, 2023. The ‘Effective School Leadership for Junior Secondary Schools' (ESL4JSS) training was officially opened by Mr. Charles Chacha, Director Policy and Partnerships, Ministry of Education, Kenya (MOE), at the Nyamasaria Primary School in Kisumu County. He was flanked by Regional Director of Education, Nyanza; County Director of Education, Kisumu, and other ministry officials; Kenya Education Management Institute CEO, VVOB in Kenya Country Programme Manager, and key stakeholders in the education sector.
ESL4JSS, which was jointly developed by Kenya Education Management Institute and VVOB in Kenya, is aimed at strengthening school leaders' instructional leadership competences, thus enabling them to gain a deeper understanding of the CBC framework and its implications for teaching and learning. The training programme incorporates a blend of learning methodologies to provide school leaders with a comprehensive learning experience through online self-paced learning, extended learning activities, and face-to-face learning sessions.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the chief guest, Mr. Chacha noted the critical role the leadership training played in attaining the ambitious education goals the country has for the sector. “The Presidential Working Party on Curriculum Reforms has now published the report recommending improvements to the entire education sector. The voices of all stakeholders across the country agree that the CBC is good for the country – the competencies, values, life skills, continuous assessment, community service learning - these are areas that will transform our societies and lead us to sustainable development. All the directorates and education agencies are working around the clock to ensure you get the financial, human and capital resources necessary for effective teaching and learning at your schools, keeping our focus on the learners at Junior Secondary, Grade 7s, the pioneer group of the CBC,” he said.
He further lauded Kenya Education Management Institute and VVOB in Kenya for deployment of ICT solutions to learning, based on the development of the KEMI App. “ICT integration in education capacity development is among our objectives. Through the KEMI application, every school leader in this programme will have an app-based learning experience, flexible to meet your daily activities. As you will be the first cohort to experience this, I am looking forward to receiving the report of how this experience will be, so that your feedback is incorporated into the development of the application and ensure that all school leaders across the country are also able to download this application and get the same learning experiences you will have gone through,” he said. Mr. Chacha was speaking on behalf of Dr. Elyas Abdi, OGW, Director General, Ministry of Education.
On his part, Kenya Education Management Institute CEO Dr. Maurice Odondo assured the school leaders that the training they were starting was evidence-based, and that it sought to address all the capacity gaps identified during a recent Training Needs Assessment. Findings from the Training Needs Assessment commissioned by the Ministry of Education revealed that 82.7% of secondary school leaders, and 70.7 % of primary school leaders did not feel adequately capacitated to mentor and support teachers on all components of the CBC curriculum. Further, it also revealed that majority of school leaders (65.2% in primary and 80.2% in secondary) were not confident in mentoring and supporting teachers on CBC curriculum design. Building the capacity of school leaders in junior secondary schools to lead the implementation of the CBC was therefore identified as the central focus area. It is against this background that the Effective School Leadership for Junior Secondary Schools training was developed.
His sentiments were echoed by Claire Mazin, VVOB in Kenya Country Programme Manager, who noted the critical role that school leaders play in creating the conditions for effective teaching and providing support to teachers. “The professional development of teachers and school leaders is VVOB’s primary priority in ensuring quality education for all. The INCREASE programme (and subsequently, the ESL4JSS training) will complement the existing government efforts to support effective implementation of the CBC at Junior School level, thus underscoring the vital role school leaders play in this,” she said.
The rollout of the training for the first cohort of the programme was also held in Taita Taveta, Turkana, Machakos and Kakamega Counties.
