Nairobi: A crucial week-long workshop for the Enhancing Adoption of Competence-Based Agricultural Curricula in Higher Education Institutions in Kenya and Uganda (AGRCBE) project is underway at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). The workshop aims to unite key stakeholders including educators, policymakers, and industry experts from Kenya, Uganda, Finland, and the Netherlands to enhance and finalize strategies for integrating Competence-Based Education (CBE) into agricultural study programs.
According to Kenya News Agency, the project, funded by the European Union, is committed to creating inclusive and industry-aligned higher education in East Africa. It aims to provide regulators in Kenya and Uganda with tools to manage CBE, collaborate with industries to integrate real-world skills, train university faculty as CBE experts, and help education bodies adapt CBE to local agricultural needs.
Speaking during the forum, Professor Daniel Sila, College of Agriculture Principal, emphasiz
ed that the workshop aligns with Kenya’s ongoing curriculum reforms. He praised the AGRCBE initiative as both relevant and timely, stating that CBE preparation is vital for the transition to the new education system. Professor Sila also challenged participants to intensify communication between academia and industries to secure resources and ensure graduates meet industry needs.
Prof. Basil Mugonola, the Overall Coordinator from Gulu University in Uganda, highlighted the project’s early successes. He noted that despite being new, the AGRCBE project has already trained over three hundred and twenty-nine university staff members, transforming them into competent professionals. Initial trial runs at partner universities have led to revised course modules incorporating experiential learning components, successfully facilitating regional knowledge-sharing forums.
The AGRCBE project is collaboratively implemented by several institutions and regional bodies, including Gulu University and Bishop Stuart University i
n Uganda, and JKUAT and Egerton University in Kenya. Key governmental and regulatory partners include the Kenya and Uganda Ministries of Education, the National Council for Higher Education (Uganda), and the Commission for University Education (Kenya), with additional support from the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA).
The project plays a key role in East Africa by transforming and aligning university courses with Competence-Based Education (CBE), a goal set by the East African Community (EAC). Although primarily focused on Kenya and Uganda, its partnership with the IUCEA allows its influence to spread to countries like Tanzania and Rwanda. This work promotes standardized competence frameworks across the region, facilitating skilled worker mobility and strengthening regional food security.
The push for competence-based education is gaining traction across the region. Both Kenya and Uganda are actively implementing the new CBE system, setting the stage for a new generation of university studen
ts. Kenya anticipates its first cohort of CBE students will join universities in 2029, with Ugandan counterparts expected to enter higher education institutions the same year.
