Kenya’s education system has undergone a major transformation since the introduction of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), which was designed to replace the 40-year-old 8-4-4 system criticised for placing too much emphasis on memorisation at the expense of critical thinking and practical skills.
By the time President William Ruto and the Kenya Kwanza administration assumed office in 2022, CBC had been piloted for five years, beginning in 2017, and had been in classroom use for four years following its rollout in 2019.
Two weeks after taking office, on September 29, 2022, President Ruto established the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform (PWPER) to assess the implementation of CBC and propose changes across the education sector.
The 42-member task force was chaired by Prof Raphael Munavu and was given a broad mandate covering basic and tertiary education.
Among its responsibilities was reviewing laws governing basic education and proposing reforms to eliminate duplication, resolve ambiguities and improve efficiency. It was also tasked with examining the classification and management of public schools and the administration of bursaries.
At the tertiary level, the team was required to review relevant laws and propose measures to improve effectiveness and efficiency.
“The Working Party shall have the powers and carry out such other functions necessary to undertake any matter incidental or ancillary to the foregoing,” Ruto said in the Gazette Notice establishing the team.
On August 1, 2023, the working party presented its report, making recommendations that would significantly alter the structure and implementation of the new curriculum.
Among the proposals was changing the name from Competency-Based Curriculum to Competency-Based Education (CBE).
Primary, Junior and Senior School structure
The reforms reorganised primary education into lower primary, covering Grades 1 to 6, and Junior School, covering Grades 7 to 9.
Junior School was retained within existing primary school compounds, creating a comprehensive school arrangement under a single headteacher.
Secondary schools were subsequently redesignated as Senior Schools, covering Grades 10 to 12.
The curriculum was also rationalised, with the number of learning areas reduced to ease the workload on both learners and teachers.
Lower primary learning areas were reduced from eight to seven, while upper primary areas fell from 11 to eight.
At Junior School level, the number of learning areas dropped from 14 to nine following the integration of overlapping subjects, including Agriculture and Nutrition and Integrated Science.
The restructured curriculum introduced three broad specialisation pathways based on learners’ talents and preferences, alongside compulsory core subjects.
These include English, Kiswahili or Kenya Sign Language, Mathematics, Physical Education and Community Service Learning.
STEM pathway
The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) pathway is divided into three tracks.
The Pure Sciences Track covers Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
The Applied Sciences Track includes Agriculture, Computer Science/ICT and Home Science.
The Technical and Engineering Studies Track covers specialised areas such as Aviation, Building Construction, Woodwork, Metalwork and Electricity.
The aim is to expose learners to technical and scientific skills while allowing them to pursue areas aligned with their interests and abilities.
Social Sciences pathway
The Social Sciences pathway is similarly divided into three tracks.
The Languages and Literature Track includes Literature in English, Kiswahili/Kenya Sign Language Literature and foreign or indigenous languages such as French, German, Mandarin and Arabic.
The Humanities Track covers History and Citizenship, Geography and Religious Education, including CRE, IRE and HRE.
The Business Studies Track focuses on Business Studies, incorporating areas such as entrepreneurship, economics and accounting.
Arts and Sports Science
The third pathway is Arts and Sports Science.
Its Performing Arts Track covers Music and Dance as well as Theatre and Film.
The Visual Arts Track includes Fine Art, Graphic Design and textile and craft-based design.
The Sports Science Track focuses on Sports and Recreation, physical training and coaching.
The structure is intended to give learners opportunities to develop abilities beyond conventional academic subjects and pursue education based on their interests and talents.
Assessment system changes
The transition to CBE has also fundamentally changed how learners are assessed.
Greater emphasis has been placed on continuous, school-based assessment, with teacher evaluations forming a significant component of learners’ progression scores alongside national assessments.
National competency-based assessments use an eight-level achievement scale grouped into four broad categories: Exceeding Expectations (EE), Meeting Expectations (ME), Approaching Expectations (AE) and Below Expectations (BE).
Learners are expected to sit three major national assessments at different stages of their basic education.
These are the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) in Grade 6, the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) in Grade 9 and the Kenya Certificate of Basic Education (KCBE) in Grade 12.
For KPSEA, school-based assessments conducted in Grades 4, 5 and 6 account for 60 per cent of the score, while the final national summative assessment contributes the remaining 40 per cent.
Under KJSEA, assessments undertaken in Grades 7 and 8 contribute 20 per cent, the Grade 9 national assessment accounts for 60 per cent, while the KPSEA score contributes the remaining 20 per cent.
The Grade 12 national summative examination is expected to replace the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in 2028.
The Grade 12 examination will contribute 70 per cent of the final KCBE score, while school-based continuous assessments will account for the remaining 30 per cent.
The continuous assessment component will be divided equally between Grades 10 and 11, with each contributing 15 per cent.
Government expands infrastructure
The shift to the new system has required substantial investment in physical infrastructure.
The government has constructed more than 23,000 classrooms to accommodate learners moving through Junior and Senior School and ease congestion.
It has also initiated the construction and equipping of more than 1,600 science laboratories to support specialised learning, particularly as learners move into Senior School.
The infrastructure programme is intended to ensure schools can accommodate the practical requirements of the new curriculum, including science, technology, arts and sports-related learning.
Transition and retention challenges
Data from the Kenya National Examinations Council shows high progression rates at the lower levels of education, a trend partly attributed to the government’s 100 per cent transition policy.
Between 2022 and 2025, the transition rate from Grade 3 to Grade 6 stood at 96.90 per cent.
However, the overall retention and transition rate to Grade 9 fell to 88.17 per cent.
More than 151,000 learners from the pioneer CBC cohort dropped out before completing Grade 9, with boys accounting for nearly two-thirds of those who left the system.
The transition from Grade 9 to Grade 10 later reached an estimated 85 to 93 per cent following government mop-up campaigns conducted in January 2026.
The figures illustrate both the progress made in keeping children within the education system and the continuing challenge of ensuring learners remain in school as they advance to higher levels.
Teacher recruitment
The government has also expanded the teaching workforce to support the transition.
It recruited an additional 100,000 teachers, including 76,000 deployed specifically to address staffing needs in Junior Schools.
The recruitment programme has been accompanied by continued training and retooling of existing teachers to equip them with the skills needed to implement CBE.
The expansion was aimed at addressing staffing pressures created by the introduction of Junior School and the subsequent movement of learners into Senior School.
Rising cost of education
The education reforms have come with a substantial increase in government spending.
Overall State expenditure on education rose from Sh544.4 billion in the 2022/23 financial year to Sh784.5 billion in the 2026/27 financial year.
The State Department for Basic Education, which is responsible for implementing and sustaining CBE, received Sh136.6 billion in the 2026/27 financial year, up from Sh130.46 billion in 2022/23.
The financial burden has also extended to households.
Surveys, including an Infotrak poll, have indicated that about 39 per cent of parents consider the high cost of school fees, specialised uniforms and learning materials among the major obstacles facing families.
Unlike the 8-4-4 system, where many of the heavier education expenses were concentrated at upper secondary and tertiary levels, CBE requires greater spending at earlier stages.
Continuous assessments, practical projects, digital learning tools and subject-specific materials have increased household expenditure.
Parents have also faced additional costs where public schools experience funding gaps or delays in government disbursements.
These pressures can include supplementary levies for school development projects and specialised equipment required for STEM and arts laboratories.
As Kenya continues to transition fully to the CBE system, the reforms have therefore brought changes not only to the structure of schooling and assessment, but also to teacher deployment, infrastructure requirements and the financial responsibilities borne by the government and households.
The shift from 8-4-4 to CBE has effectively transformed the way learners progress through basic education, with the system now placing greater emphasis on competencies, practical skills, continuous assessment and pathways aligned with individual talents and career interests.
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