One could almost say that it is a global phenomenon. Competence based education and curricula can now be traced to many countries, and Kenya is now at it.

But there are several serious problems regarding this approach/solution:

1. It has no reliable theoretical foundations. For example, no one seems to know what competencies exactly are being built

2. The subjects involved either promise to be too many for both teachers and students, or significant subjects like market design and entrepreneurship will be left out

3. The politics and sociology of CBC is suspect. There is evidence that this is a push by big capital to get cheap and flexible labor

4. Implementation of the CBC curriculum is a financial and resource nightmare

My impression is that this policy was forced on us, rather than that we designed what would be good or beneficial in a practical and foreseeable way.

I don't know exactly how flexible our institutions are to these challenges. I only hope we can salvage the situation.

@Jamplu, it is true that CBC has 'constructivist' leanings, and as this tendency is noted, it is also important for us to remember that theories have their own qualities that can be evaluated. In this case, we can consider both Piaget and Gardner to see the robustness of their theories.

One criticism against Piaget is that his model doesn't go far enough in describing learning and cognition. For example the 'formal operation stage' is too broad and vague. Ideas have been formulated on 'post-formal stages'. Ideas from the Bernian school that connect the mind-body complex would ask for more precision.

Gardner, on the other hand, extends the meaning of intelligence from the purely cognitive construct to one that espouses the body and even social action. Redefining domains isn't as cursory as it may appear at first glance.

Besides, scholarship on CBC tends to the idea that competence is job oriented and can be a description of abstract entities like groups and corporations. Such constructivist theories are wont to ignore the individual as an autonomy. Considering social systems are complex and have emergent outcomes, how can the constructivist idea have validity?

It is not clear how we can understand Gardner's multiple intelligences. Are they linear, or complex? How to measure and harness them?

We can say traditional African societies fostered competence in being a member of a community. Contemporary views are that we need to be competent for jobs availed. There is a world of difference between these two systems and the difference is no longer trivial.

Most of the competencies mentioned have great names, but an analysis on them reveals a kind of emptiness and failure to appreciate how humans work.

For example, 'self efficacy'. What role is given to the unconscious mind is almost unknown in this case, and it is probable that this attribute can't be taught.

What hasn't been added to the list of competencies is also telling, and even the methodology for making this list is unclear.

CBC looks more like a fad than a serious attempt at problem solving.