Thika: Education stakeholders are advocating for the integration of value-based education into the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) to nurture disciplined and morally upright learners from the foundational stages of education.
According to Kenya News Agency, Mount Kenya University Founder Prof. Simon Gicharu emphasized that this initiative would promote good governance and integrity, addressing many challenges that have plagued the country over the years. Speaking during a meeting between Mount Kenya University (MKU) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) at the university's Main Campus in Thika, Prof. Gicharu, who also chairs the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), highlighted that this approach would help build a society that upholds integrity without needing excessive supervision and enforcement.
During the meeting, MKU and EACC agreed to collaborate in developing and implementing integrity and ethics courses designed to instill values of accountability, honesty, and responsible leadership in students. The partnership aims to leverage universities as platforms for nurturing a generation that rejects corruption and embraces ethical conduct.
MKU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Deogratius Jaganyi stated that the university and EACC would co-develop an integrity course for students, which would also extend to the broader Kenyan community. He added that integrity training would become an integral part of university learning and student engagements. Prof. Jaganyi emphasized that the partnership would harness the innovation, creativity, and energy of young people to advance a culture of integrity and combat corruption through awareness campaigns, research, and training programs.
Prof. Jaganyi elaborated, 'We intend to introduce integrity as a common unit for all students in our university to produce principled, accountable, and courageous leaders who will reject corruption, uphold honesty, and drive positive change in society.'
The EACC delegation, led by Vice Chairperson Dr. Monica Muiru, mentioned that the initiative would be implemented through the Kenya Integrity Leadership Forum (KILF), targeting universities as platforms for engaging young people in the fight against corruption. The commission emphasized that empowering youth with ethical values early on would help reduce tolerance to corruption and dismantle the belief that integrity is a barrier to success.