The move by the Kenya Institute of Education to reform the 8-4-4 curriculum is a great step towards ensuring education in our country meets local and international needs. Their endeavor to make the curriculum relevant would be incomplete if religious education will still be taught in school.
Religious education draws a bulk of its material from ‘holy books’ which contain innumerable fictional tales of virgin births, ghosts, talking donkeys and flying horses, which are taught to students as historical fact despite all evidence to the contrary, makes religious education intellectually immoral. Religious education also kills the curiosity of children by its biased praise of faith without questioning.
The fact that religious education is allocated equal time as science subjects in schools creates a state of psychological chaos in the minds of students. For instance, the teaching of creationism and intelligent design as a fact alongside evolution, leaves students confused regarding the origin of life in the universe and any honest enquiry is, given the unwarranted respect given to religion in the country, not satisfactorily answered. This misleading of young minds is unacceptable and outdated given the overwhelming scientific evidence that has proved religious dogma to be false and fictional.
It is time that the education system stops teaching Bronze Age mythology from the Middle East and focuses more on instilling students with factual and practical information that will help them unleash their potential and play their part in improving the state of humanity through creativity and innovation.
No comments:
Post a Comment