Title: The Implementation Gap: Prohibitive Costs and Systemic Deficits as Barriers to Competency-Based Curriculum in Africa
Authors: Dr. Arinaitwe Julius, Ahumuza Audrey
Volume: 9
Issue: 12
Pages: 98-109
Publication Date: 2025/12/28
Abstract:
Background: Competency-based curriculum (CBC) reforms have been widely adopted across Africa to transform education systems from traditional knowledge transmission models toward learner-centered approaches emphasizing practical skills and 21st-century competencies. However, a persistent implementation gap between policy aspirations and classroom realities threatens to undermine these reforms, with prohibitive costs and systemic deficits identified as primary barriers to effective implementation. Objectives: This study investigated the financial barriers and systemic deficits impeding CBC implementation in African education systems, examined their interrelationships and impacts on implementation effectiveness, and identified contextually appropriate strategies for bridging the implementation gap. Methods: Employing a mixed-methods convergent parallel design, the study was conducted across six African countries (Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, and Ghana) with 1,847 participants including teachers, administrators, curriculum specialists, and policymakers selected through stratified random sampling. Quantitative data collected through validated structured questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson correlations, multiple linear regression, and structural equation modeling. Qualitative data from 72 semi-structured interviews, 18 focus group discussions, and document analysis of 94 policy documents complemented quantitative findings through thematic analysis and methodological triangulation. Results: Financial barriers were substantial across all countries (M = 4.20/5.0), with technology integration (M = 4.41), learning materials (M = 4.35), and infrastructure development (M = 4.28) representing the most prohibitive costs, though significant cross-country variations existed (F = 19.85, p < .001, ?² = 0.051). Systemic deficits were pervasive, with 71.3% of respondents identifying them as major or extreme barriers; teacher pedagogical capacity (78.3% prevalence; M = 4.18), resource allocation mechanisms (76.1%; M = 4.11), and monitoring systems (74.2%; M = 4.05) constituted the most severe deficits. Conclusions: The implementation gap in African CBC initiatives resulted from the intersection of prohibitive costs and systemic deficits operating as mutually reinforcing barriers, with particularly severe impacts in rural contexts threatening to exacerbate educational inequalities. Successful implementation required moving beyond superficial curriculum reforms toward comprehensive transformation of resource allocation, institutional capacity, and implementation support structures sustained over extended timeframes through phased, prioritized approaches; comprehensive teacher capacity building and institutional strengthening systems; and equity-focused resource mobilization addressing urban-rural disparities.