Teachers in terror-Prone Boni Forest struggle to implement CBC system

Teachers in terror-prone Boni Forest in Lamu County have admitted to facing difficulties in implementing the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) effectively.

The teachers from all five schools in the dense forest say executing the CBC system of education is nearly impossible due to a lack of learning materials, compounded by inadequate infrastructure and the general insecurity affecting the region.

The five schools of Boni Forest are Milimani, Basuba, Mangai, Mararani, and Kiangwe. The five schools have at least 400 learners.

The schools have for years been on and off owing to recurrent attacks caused by Al-Shabaab militants from neighbouring Somalia.

The teachers who requested anonymity to avoid getting targeted by their seniors, said they are not applying for CBC while teaching in their respective schools in Boni Forest.

They cited poor coordination by the Ministry of Education in disseminating learning materials to the area as a key hindrance to the effective implementation of CBC.

“I admit that we are not doing CBC in our Boni Forest schools. We have no learning materials. The education office always releases the materials to schools very far from Boni Forest. They don’t want to have them dispatched here directly. How can a teacher in Boni Forest be required to go all the way to Faza or Kizingitini to collect materials using our own expenses? That must end,” said a teacher.

Security officers stand guard at Mararani Primary School in Boni Forest, Lamu County. (Photo: Farhiya Hussein)

Struggling to adapt

Another teacher expressed worry that if things continue like that, CBC in Boni Forest will be like a dream yet to come true.

They acknowledged struggling to adapt to the system without success.

The teachers also accused the education office of failing to provide them with training related to CBC.

“As teachers in Boni Forest, we are being sidelined on matters of training. They don’t involve us. We need frequent seminars to enable us to adapt to CBC and its requirements,” said the teacher.

The fact that many areas in Boni Forest have high levels of illiteracy is also adding pain to the already struggling system as parents are known for their traditional, forest lifestyle, hence making it hard for them to provide the requirements under CBC.

Mangai Primary School pupils and their teachers. The school is inside the dense Boni Forest. (Photo: Farhiya Hussein)

“High illiteracy level among parents in Boni Forest is making it hard for them to help learners once given homework. Their traditional, forest lifestyle, inadequate infrastructure and teacher shortage are some of the challenges facing our learners here,” said the teacher.

The teachers asked for more classrooms, teachers and a consistent supply of learning materials to enable the effective implementation of CBC in Boni Forest.

Lamu County Education Director Zachary Mutuiri, however, said his office was doing all it took to ensure the welfare of Boni Forest teachers and learners is taken care of.

“In coordination with the security team, we are making arrangements to visit all the schools in Boni Forest very soon. The challenge here is the means of transport but we pray that a chopper will be available to take us there. We are doing all this to ensure the welfare of teachers and learners in Boni Forest is well taken care of,” said Mutuiri.