From Policy to Practice: A Systematic Review of Implementation Challenges and Gaps in Kenya’s Competency-Based Curriculum

Bridging the Skills Gap through Competency-Based Education: Legal and Policy Perspectives from Uganda

Uganda's transition to competency-based education and training represent one of the most significant pedagogical and regulatory reforms in contemporary African education policy. This article critically examines the legal and policy frameworks underpinning this transition at national, regional, continental, and international levels. Through a qualitative case study design employing document analysis and the IRAC framework for legal analysis, the study draws on parliamentary records, assessment data, labour market surveys, and recent scholarly literature. The findings reveal a fundamental implementation paradox: institutional compliance with regulatory mandates coexists with persistent deficiencies in applied competencies that competency-based education was designed to cultivate. Despite possessing one of the most progressive legal frameworks in Sub-Saharan Africa, Uganda faces significant challenges including definitional ambiguity in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Act 2025, delayed issuance of subsidiary legislation for the Skills Development Levy, inadequate teacher preparedness, resource disparities across institutions, and weak industry engagement mechanisms. The study identifies three interrelated gaps: legislative ambiguity, institutional capacity deficits, and absence of outcome-based accountability. These gaps are compounded by regional and gender disparities, with labour underutilization reaching 58.3% among youth aged 15-19. The article concludes that sustainable reform requires moving beyond regulatory compulsion toward outcome-based accountability, genuine industry partnership, equitable resource distribution, and policy coherence across national, regional, and international frameworks. Evidence from across Sub-Saharan Africa confirms that legal mandate alone is insufficient without congruent resource allocation, pedagogical transformation, and sustained stakeholder engagement. The article offers targeted recommendations for legislative amendment, regulatory development, and equity sensitive implementation.

Policy–practice gap in implementing competency-based curriculum in Southern African secondary schools

Competency-based curriculum (CBC) reforms have increasingly been adopted across Southern African education systems as governments attempt to improve learning outcomes, develop practical skills, and align schooling with contemporary socio-economic demands. Despite these policy ambitions, evidence from several education systems suggests that CBC reforms remain unevenly implemented, particularly in resource-constrained secondary schools, where institutional capacity and instructional resources are limited. This study examines the policy–practice gap in the implementation of competency-based curriculum in selected Southern African secondary schools by synthesising recent scholarly and policy literature. It employed a systematic literature review guided by PRISMA procedures to identify and analyse relevant studies published between 2020 and 2025. Search was conducted across major academic databases and policy repositories, yielding 25 studies that met the established inclusion criteria. The reviewed studies focused primarily on teachers, school administrators, and policy implementation in African secondary education systems. The findings indicate that although CBC reforms are widely supported at the policy level, implementation at the school level is constrained by several interconnected factors. Key challenges include limited teacher preparedness, inadequate professional development opportunities, shortages of textbooks and teaching materials, infrastructural limitations, and weak institutional support mechanisms. Teachers often interpret and adapt curriculum policies to fit classroom realities, leading to inconsistent implementation of competency-based pedagogies. The study concludes that effective implementation of competency-based curriculum reforms requires sustained investment in teacher training, improved allocation of instructional resources, and stronger institutional coordination across education systems. Policymakers and education administrators should prioritise context-sensitive implementation strategies that strengthen school-level capacity and support teachers in adopting competency-based pedagogical approaches. Future research should explore classroom-level experiences of CBC implementation and evaluate long-term impacts of curriculum reforms on teaching practices and learner outcomes.

Bridging policy and practice: The effect of EQASO mentorship on pedagogical competencies of junior school teachers under CBC in Nairobi, Kenya

The introduction of Junior School in Kenya in 2023 represented a significant milestone in the roll out of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), transitioning learners from primary grade six into Junior school grade seven (7), a new educational structure. To evaluate the effectiveness of curriculum implementation, the Ministry of Education conducted a National Monitoring Exercise across 14 counties between 23rd and 29th September 2023. Key gaps identified included teachers’ challenges in interpreting curriculum design, preparing schemes of work and lesson plans, employing learner-centered pedagogy, integrating ICT in teaching, using learning aids effectively, and applying assessment for and as learning. This study concentrated on Nairobi County, with a particular focus on the role of Education Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (E-QASOs) in mentoring Junior School teachers. The research was guided by four objectives: assessing E-QASOs’ capacity to provide mentorship and instructional support, examining teachers’ preparedness and pedagogical practices under CBC, evaluating the outcomes of mentorship programs, and recommending strategies to strengthen mentorship models for improved teacher effectiveness and learner outcomes. Employing a descriptive quantitative design, the study integrated baseline, mid-line, and end-line surveys with mentor–mentee sessions. Data collection tools included questionnaires, observation schedules, and digital platforms such as Tangerine. Analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel and Artificial Intelligence, with findings presented on a table, diagrammatically and graphically. Eight E-QASOs were randomly sampled from Nairobi County, each mentoring two teachers across sixteen schools. E-QASOs selected junior schools and teachers within their jurisdiction using structured criteria. Findings revealed notable gaps in E-QASOs’ capacity, with 87.5% demonstrating limited ability to support teachers in areas such as creative learning aids, lesson planning, inclusive approaches, and record keeping. Additionally, 75% moderately lacked skills in curriculum interpretation and time allocation. Teachers also faced challenges at baseline: 55.5% struggled with curriculum interpretation, 62.5% with schemes of work, and 80% with lesson planning. However, mentorship had a transformative effect. By the end-line survey, these challenges had reduced significantly, with only 14% struggling with curriculum interpretation, 18.75% with schemes of work, and 10% with lesson planning. Teachers reported improved ability to design schemes of work, enlist competencies, reflect on lessons, and structure lesson plans appropriately. The study concludes that mentorship positively influenced teachers’ instructional behavior, leading to enhanced delivery and potentially improved learner performance. It recommends expanding the functions of E-QASOs to include structured mentorship, with emphasis on building their skills in curriculum interpretation, pedagogical support, and inclusive teaching practices. Strengthening mentorship models is seen as critical to ensuring sustainable teacher development and improved learner outcomes in Junior Schools, thereby supporting the broader goals of CBC implementation in Kenya.

CHAPTER: 6 Bridging the gap between intended and taught curriculum: Insights from the implementation of Curriculum 2004 in Turkey

Academic Staff Welfare and the Implementation of Competency-Based Curricula in Ugandan Universities

The global transition toward Competency-Based Curricula (CBC) in higher education represents a fundamental reorientation from knowledge transmission to demonstrable skill application. Ugandan universities, guided by the National Council for Higher Education, have been mandated to fully transition to competence-based learning by the 2027/2028 academic year. However, the success of this ambitious reform depends critically on the human infrastructure tasked with its implementation: academic staff. This conceptual review examines the relationship between academic staff welfare and CBC implementation readiness in Ugandan universities. Drawing on Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, the study synthesizes evidence from existing literature to demonstrate that poor remuneration, job insecurity, excessive workloads, and inadequate professional development act as powerful hygiene factors that demotivate faculty and directly undermine the pedagogical shifts required for CBC. The review identifies specific welfare dimensions that most significantly affect CBC readiness and proposes a conceptual framework linking welfare conditions to implementation outcomes. The analysis concludes that without strategic investment in holistic academic staff welfare—financial, professional, and psychological—CBC implementation in Uganda will remain a symbolic policy exercise rather than a transformative reality. This review contributes to the literature on higher education reform in developing contexts by foregrounding the often-neglected human factor in curriculum change and provides evidence-based recommendations for integrating staff welfare into national CBC implementation strategies.

A Comparative Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Knowledge-Based Curriculum and the Competence-Based Curriculum in Enhancing Student Performance in Lower Secondary Schools in Uganda: A Systematic Review

Background: The transition from knowledge-based to competence-based curriculum has become a major educational reform aimed at improving learner outcomes and equipping students with twenty-first-century competencies. In Uganda, the National Curriculum Development Centre introduced the Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC) for lower secondary education in 2020 to replace the Knowledge-Based Curriculum (KBC). However, evidence comparing the effectiveness of the two curriculum and the factors influencing successful implementation remains fragmented. Objective: This systematic review compared the effectiveness of the Knowledge-Based Curriculum and the Competence-Based Curriculum in enhancing learning outcomes in Uganda's lower secondary schools and synthesized evidence on the strengths, implementation challenges, and strategies for strengthening the CBC. Methods: The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020) guidelines. Electronic searches were conducted in Google Scholar, Scopus, ERIC, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, Taylor & Francis, Wiley Online Library, and SAGE Journals. Empirical studies published between 2005 and 2026 that examined the KBC, CBC, or lower secondary curriculum reforms in Uganda were eligible for inclusion. Methodological quality was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT 2018), and findings were synthesized narratively because of methodological heterogeneity. Results: Twenty-two studies met the inclusion criteria. The evidence indicates that the CBC provides greater potential than the KBC to improve learner outcomes by promoting learner-centred pedagogy, competency development, continuous assessment, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, and problem-solving skills. Nevertheless, its effectiveness is constrained by inadequate teacher preparedness, limited instructional resources, insufficient assessment literacy, overcrowded classrooms, weak ICT infrastructure, and inconsistent implementation across schools. In contrast, although the KBC effectively supported content mastery and examination performance, it was characterised by teacher-centred instruction and limited opportunities for developing transferable competencies. Conclusion: The review concludes that the Competence-Based Curriculum represents a more effective framework for improving educational quality and learner competencies than the Knowledge-Based Curriculum. However, realizing its full potential requires sustained investment in teacher professional development, instructional resources, assessment systems, implementation fidelity, and institutional support to ensure consistent and equitable curriculum delivery across Uganda.