If we are to have an honest conversation about the rising unemployment crisis in Kenya, we must start by examining the root cause – our education system. Specifically, the 8-4-4 system. For over three decades, this model shaped how millions of Kenyans were taught, trained, and tested. And today, we are reaping the consequences: a workforce bloated with credentials but hollowed out in practical skills, creativity, and adaptability.
The 8-4-4 system was introduced in 1985 with the promise of equipping learners with technical and vocational skills. It was intended to be practical, hands-on, and responsive to national development needs. However, somewhere along the way, it lost its way. What began as a noble reform evolved into an exam-obsessed, theory-laden, and rigid pursuit of grades. It trained generations to pass tests, rather than solve problems.
Our children were taught to memorise, not to make. To regurgitate, not to reason. The classroom became a place where conformity was rewarded and curiosity punished. Those who coloured within the lines passed; those who tried to innovate were labelled “indisciplined” or “distracted.”
The 8-4-4 system was also an unapologetically academic system. From an early age, learners were conditioned to believe that success meant one thing – going to university. Technical and vocational paths were portrayed as options for those who failed. A student who received a C or D was often seen as an embarrassment, even if they had brilliant hands that could repair machines, build structures, or create art. Society, fuelled by the system, worshipped degrees. In turn, we produced graduates by the thousands – but not jobs, and not job creators.
Today, we are faced with a cruel irony. We have one of the most educated youth populations in Africa, yet we also have one of the highest levels of youth unemployment. Thousands graduate from universities each year, only to join the ranks of the jobless. Many walk the streets with crisp CVs, desperately seeking opportunities that do not exist. The 8-4-4 system, which drilled them to be job seekers, never prepared them to be job creators.
Worse still, most university courses are disconnected from the actual needs of the labour market. A student who gets an A– and is placed by KUCCPS might find themselves studying a course they neither chose nor understand. Four years later, they graduate with a degree that has little market relevance. The world moved on, but our curriculum didn’t. We trained students for jobs that disappeared ten years ago – and forgot to train them for jobs that don’t yet exist.
Meanwhile, employers lament a chronic skills gap. They complain that graduates cannot write formal emails, solve real-world problems, or take initiative without being spoon-fed. They say our education system produces “qualified incompetence” – people with papers but no practical skill. They are not wrong.
And then there’s the huge population of those who never make it to university. These young people are the silent majority – often forgotten in national conversations. The 8-4-4 system gave them a certificate, but little else. It did not equip them with employable skills. It did not train them in craftsmanship, digital skills, or entrepreneurship. It prepared them for an academic path – and when they didn’t make the grade, it left them stranded.
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The failure of 8-4-4 is not just educational; it is economic. We now have a society where plumbers, welders, mechanics, tailors, and technicians are in short supply – yet tens of thousands of diploma and degree holders are idle. We glorified white-collar jobs and demonised blue-collar trades. We trained for prestige, not productivity.
Furthermore, 8-4-4 ignored talent. It did not value art, music, drama, design, or agriculture. It funnelled all learners through a narrow academic pipe. And in doing so, it choked potential. Many who could have become successful chefs, athletes, dancers, farmers, or designers were instead judged as “failures” simply because they couldn’t cram formulas or recite Shakespeare. That is not just a waste – it is a national tragedy.
The unemployment crisis cannot be solved by job creation alone. It must be addressed at the source – by transforming how we educate. The Competency-Based Education (CBE) is a step in the right direction, but its success will depend on implementation, mindset change, and adequate resourcing. We must stop training for certificates and start training for life.
Our education system must stop seeing learners as future employees and start seeing them as creators, innovators, and problem-solvers. We must embed digital skills, financial literacy, communication, and entrepreneurship at every level. We must empower learners to identify problems in their communities and design practical solutions. And we must restore dignity to technical training. A young person who becomes a world-class carpenter or solar technician is no less successful than one who becomes a lawyer.
In the end, unemployment is not just about the economy – it’s about education. The 8-4-4 system promised to build a skilled and self-reliant citizenry. Instead, it built a generation of anxious youth armed with papers but no place to go. If we are to break this cycle, we must reimagine education as a tool not just for passing exams, but for building livelihoods.
It is time to bury the ghosts of 8-4-4 – and build a system that trains for work, not just for white-collar dreams. Only then will we truly begin to tackle the unemployment crisis at its roots.
By Ashford Kimani
Ashford teaches English and Literature in Gatundu North Sub County and serves as Dean of Studies.
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