The Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) syllabus has been hailed as the best system for addressing environmental concerns in terms of tree planting, forest conservation, and land reclamation.
Speaking during the national tree planting exercise at Kendege Prisons in Kuria East Sub County-Migori, Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) Director Charles Ong’ondo noted that the new Kenyan education system had all the environmental aspects that aim to nurture students in terms of environmental conservation.
Prof. Ong’ondo, who represented Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu at the national tree planting exercise in the county, said that the CBC was tailored towards educating children at a young age on the importance of tree planting and environmental conservation.
“Our CBC education system has incorporated all the environmental aspects into all the subjects, right from the pre-primary to the secondary level,” said Ong’ondo.
The director who led the Kendege community in planting 9,000 trees at Kendege Prison and Kendege Technical Training Institute disclosed that CBC had integrated pertinent and contemporary issues into every learning area, including environmental conservation and related aspects in combating climate change.
Ong’ondo also explained that the new education system has incorporated parental engagement, which aims to help children put into practice what their parents engage in in their daily activities.
“We are having children participate in tree planting exercises to show them the importance of tree planting and environmental conservation, just the way CBC was tailored to do it, “he said.
Ong’ondo urged both the county management and the local administration to set a vision of tree planting in order to help the country achieve the set target of 15 billion trees by 2023.
Migori County Commissioner David Gitonga affirmed that the county will continue to plant more trees until the end of the short rains in December.
The county has been experiencing reliable rainfall since September, and according to the Migori Meteorological Service, the county will continue to experience short rains of between 456 to 655mm until the end of January 2024.
The county is also among the 10 counties with the lowest forest cover of less than one per cent, against the set requirement of 10 per cent.
He added that the local administrators have been encouraged to have tree nurseries to help the public with tree planting in order to boost the county’s set target of forest and tree cover.
The administrator, however, cautioned all the illegal miners and grazers around the Kendege area to desist from mining and grazing in tree-designated areas, affirming that the law will follow its cause if anyone is found breaking the rules.
Similarly, Migori Deputy Governor, Dr. Joseph Mahiri, emphasised that the county will continue working with the local administrators to ensure the trees planted grow to the majority.
He added that the county government has so far issued out 20,000 trees in all the sub-counties to support the county’s efforts in the tree planting exercise.
The national tree planting exercise was also done concurrently in all 12 sub-counties of Migori, where a total of 108,000 trees were planted.
By Geoffrey Makokha
