Kamogelo Olaitan
Maths at 9am, Science at 1pm… and butchering chickens at 3?
A few years ago, the Kenyan government introduced a new curriculum which encourages practical skills in schools.
But it looks as if the schools are taking the Competency Based Curriculum too far.
The kids are expected to sell goods at the market, bring chickens to school, kill and cook them and even make scarecrows.
An eyebrow-raising video surfaced this week where primary school kids are practising how to kill and cook a chicken.
This was part of the chicken practical done by grade six pupils across the country in September.
Photos and videos were shared on different social media platforms showing teachers enjoying the chicken meat in staff rooms.
In the 19-second video clip that has caused an uproar on social media, an 11-year-old boy is seen pinning down a chicken while another is cutting its neck during an outdoor lesson.
The teacher filmed the lesson on his cell phone.
After one boy cuts off the fowl’s head, the teacher congratulates him and then instructs the learner holding the body to put it into a cauldron of boiling water.
But as soon as the grade six boy lets go over the pot, the headless chicken escapes.
The clip ends with the teacher laughing while the headless chicken is still running around as screaming children chase after It.
Supporters of the practical curriculum call it an improvement on the old theory- and exam-based system and claim that it better prepares the kids for life and to find jobs in the 21st century.
BBC Africa reported that some parents and teachers were unhappy with the new curriculum as schools expected them to contribute material and money for items needed for the practicals.
Jemimah Gitari, a home science teacher at one of the schools in the east African countryside, said those from less well-off households are sometimes forced to watch others do their practicals.
“My grade five pupils, for example, were sewing a handkerchief for their project and some could not afford to buy the fabric, so we ended up using the few that were bought by some pupils,” Gitari said.
She added that some teachers take advantage of the curriculum by asking pupils to bring in meat, something that is not compulsory for a stewing project.
Newly elected Kenyan President William Ruto has since set up a 49-member task force to evaluate the new curriculum, which was a pet project of his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta.
Pictured above: Learners in Kenyan schools are taught how to slaughter and cook chickens.
Image source: @BBC
