More than 10,000 secondary schools in Kenya are going to be reorganized, which means the end of the current system of national schools. This change is happening to match the new Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
It’s all getting ready for the first group of CBC students, who are currently in Grade 8, to move to senior secondary school in 2026. With only a year and a half left until this happens, the Education Ministry has started figuring out which schools will be in each category, and they plan to finish by next year.
Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang explained that the old categories will be replaced by three new ones: STEM Centres for science, technology, engineering, and math; Humanities and Arts Schools; and Creative Arts and Sports Schools. But schools might mix these streams so students can study different subjects.
The exact details of these changes are still being worked out as education experts discuss the move to senior school at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development this week.
Kipsang mentioned they want to avoid the problems they faced with Junior Secondary, so they’re being careful this time.
Despite the push for secondary education, Grade 9 will still be in primary school. The big changes will come at the end of Grade 9, where students will take an exam to decide which senior school category they’ll join. This exam, along with class assessments, will help students choose their path.
Kipsang said this exam won’t be about ranking students but guiding them to their next step.
The details of how this exam will work are still being discussed by stakeholders at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development.
Meanwhile, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu announced that the government wants to hire 20,000 more teachers to reduce the number of students per teacher. Since September 2022, they’ve already hired over 50,000 teachers.
Machogu said, “We’ve hired a total of 56,750 teachers so far, and we’re getting more funding to hire another 20,000 this year.”