The Ministry of Education led by its Cabinet Secretary (CS) Julius Migos will this week release guidelines for transition of learners from junior school to senior school in January next year.
The Ministry of Education officials together with officials from the Kenya National Examinations Council, Kenya Institute of Curriculum Developments and Teachers Service Commission will converge in Machakos on Friday to launch a seven day county based dialogues on the Competency Based Education (CBE).
The guidelines will spell out how the placement of learners in senior school will be done.
The first CBC cohorts who are now in Grade 9 learners will this year sit for their final assessment in junior school called KJSEA.
According to Knec timetable the KJSEA will start on 27th October and end on 6th November 2025.
After KJSEA the learners will transition to senior school which comprise of Grades 10, 11 and 12.
The placement of the Grade 9 learners in senior school will however depend on pathways which will largely align with KJSEA which will account 60% and School Based Assessment (SBA) which will account 40% of the total score.
The SBA constitutes the Knec practical’s and projects as well as written assessments done in Grade 7 and 8.
The Knec projects and practicals are done each year in second term while the written assessments are done each year in third term.
The SBA done in Grade 7 and 8 will each account 20% both making a total of 40% of the total score.
CBC system was first introduced in January 2017 when the government initiated the phased changeover from the now 40-year-old 8-4-4 curriculum.
After KJSEA, learners will be placed in various schools based on their career paths.
While Junior schools were domiciled in parent primary schools, Senior schools will be a combination of the current four tiers of schools.
The four categories are national schools, extra county schools, county schools and sub-county schools.
However, under CBC, categorisation of schools will cease to exist and learners will be placed in Senior School based on three career pathways.
These are Arts and Sports Science; Science, Technology and Mathematics (STEM), and Social Science.
Each of the three career pathways have what will be known as tracks (subject combination, which under CBC are known as learning areas).
Arts and Sports Science has three tracks – Performing Arts, Sports and Visual Arts.
STEM has four tracks – Pure Science, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering and Career Technology Studies (CTS).
Social Science has two tracks – Humanities and Business Studies and Language and Literature.
Your child will be placed in Senior School based on how the outcome of the KJSEA aligns with the requirements of the three pathways (Arts and Sports Science; Science, Technology and Mathematics (STEM), and Social Science).
Schools will accomodate Grade 9 graduates based on their staffing and infrastructural capacity.
For instance, the current national schools have the best facilities in the country and may accomodate learners across all three pathways.
However, some extra county schools may be limited by infrastructural capacity to accomodate only allow two career pathways.
Besides the school-based formative assessment and the summertive KJSEA determining which career pathway a child will pursue, KNEC will dispatch questionnaires in which learners will state their interests and personality to help identify their strenghth.
This will help education officials pinpoint learners with special talents in areas like games or sciences to ensure they are placed in schools with the capacity to support their career choices sufficiently.
All the above factors nothwithstanding, three other factors will determine what school your child will be placed into.
Under CBC, focus is on placing learners in schools closest to their homes, meaning students will generally attend a nearby schools for their Senior education as is with Junior education where Grade 7-9 were integrated into existing primary schools.
It therefore goes to mean that placement of learners in Senior School will partly be influenced by availability of slots, equality and inclusivity.
Regions that have more schools will be at an advantage as this will mean more slots will be at their disposal.
Regional balance and geographical location will play a role in determining how learners will be placed in Senior School.
This aspect will save learners the need to travel miles away from home to attend a particular school as is currently the case under 8-4-4.
The Ministry of Education has is already set to launch a seven day county based dialogues that seeks to address key issues ailing the education sector.
The dialogues are designed to engage stakeholders in discussions about the Competency Based Education journey including its progress, achievements and opportunities.
The dialogues will take place in each county from 9th to 15th March 2025. They will however start after the national launch in Machakos on 7th March 2025.
The dialogues will be held across all the forty seven counties facilitated by teams consisting of officers from the Ministry of Education, Kenya National Examinations Council, Kenya Institute of Curriculum Developments and Teachers Service Commission.
Below is a statement released by the Ministry of Education on objectives of the dialogues and expected outcomes.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
STATE DEPARTMENT FOR BASIC EDUCATION
COUNTY BASED DIALOGUES
The State Department for Basic Education is organizing county based dialogues on education quality and learning outcomes in Competency Based Education (CBE).
These dialogues are designed to engage stakeholders in discussions about the CBE journey, including its progress, achievements, and opportunities.
The dialogues will take place in every county from 9th to 15th March 2025 after the National launch in Machakos on 7th March 2025.
The dialogues will be held across all 47 counties facilitated by teams consisting of officers from the MOE, KNEC, KICD and TSC.
Objectives of the County Based Dialogue
The dialogue will focus on the following key objectives
1. Updating stakeholders on the status of Competency Based Education implementation
2. Providing a platform for stakeholders participation in the validation of Senior School guidelines
3. Appraise stakeholders on teacher recruitment and capacity building
4. Receive feedback from stakeholders on the implementation of CBE
Expected Outcomes
1. Increased awareness among stakeholders regarding the current status and future of CBE
2. Validated Senior School guidelines through public participation
3. Feedback from stakeholders on the implementation of CBE
4. Strengthened collaboration among education stakeholders to drive CBE success
