- Parents should allow Grade 10 learners to choose career pathways based on their abilities, interests and talents rather than parental preference or prestige.
- Parents and teachers should work together to assess a learner’s strengths, interests and performance before selecting a pathway, rather than defaulting to STEM as the only measure of success.
The transition to Grade 10 is turning a new page in Kenya’s education story. For thousands of learners completing Junior School, the next step is no longer simply about finding a secondary school and preparing for national examinations. It is about making an important decision on what they want to study, where their strengths lie and the direction they may wish to take in their future careers.
Under Kenya’s Competency-Based Education (CBE) system, learners are being introduced to three broad career pathways: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Social Sciences, and Arts and Sports Science. Schools have been sensitising learners and parents about these options, while teachers and career-guidance teams have been helping learners understand their abilities, interests, talents and aspirations. Parents, too, have an important role, but their role should be to guide, support and encourage, not dictate. This is particularly important when it comes to STEM.
STEM is important, but it is not for every child
There is absolutely nothing wrong with encouraging a child to pursue STEM. Kenya needs scientists, doctors, engineers, technologists, innovators, mathematicians, agricultural experts and other professionals in STEM-related fields. But the growing perception that every “bright” child must pursue STEM is dangerous. STEM is a pathway, not a measure of intelligence. A learner who struggles consistently with mathematics and sciences should not automatically be forced into STEM simply because a parent believes it is more prestigious, and likewise, a learner who demonstrates exceptional ability in languages, humanities, business, music, art or sports should not be made to feel inferior. CBE recognises that learners have different competencies, interests, talents and aspirations, and the objective should be to identify the pathway that gives each learner the best opportunity to develop those strengths.
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The first pathway is STEM, covering Pure Sciences, Applied Sciences and Technical Studies, for learners interested in scientific, technological, engineering, mathematical and technical careers. The second is Social Sciences, comprising Languages and Literature as well as Humanities and Business Studies, providing opportunities for learners whose interests lie in languages, communication, business, humanities, social sciences, education and related fields. The third is Arts and Sports Science, comprising Arts and Sports, giving learners with strengths in creative and sporting disciplines an opportunity to develop their abilities. There is no superior pathway, only a pathway that may be more suitable for a particular learner.
One of the greatest dangers in the transition to Grade 10 is turning STEM into a status symbol. Some parents may feel their children will only be successful if they enter STEM, while others may equate STEM with intelligence and consider Social Sciences or Arts and Sports Science alternatives for learners who have “failed.” That mentality defeats the very purpose of CBE. A child who excels in mathematics and physics may naturally thrive in STEM, while another who struggles in those areas but demonstrates outstanding ability in languages and communication may flourish in Social Sciences, and a talented musician, actor, visual artist or athlete may find greater fulfilment in Arts and Sports Science. The question should not be which pathway is more prestigious, but which pathway best matches a child’s abilities, interests, talents and aspirations.
Parents should nevertheless pay attention to their children’s performance. If a learner has consistently struggled in mathematics and sciences, that information should form part of the discussion, but poor performance should not be treated as a permanent verdict on a child’s intelligence. A child may be struggling because of gaps in learning, inadequate support, lack of confidence or other temporary factors. Parents should sit with teachers and ask what the learner’s overall competencies reveal, considering what the child enjoys, where they demonstrate strength, what talents are emerging, which subjects generate enthusiasm, what careers interest the learner, and what teachers observe. These questions provide a much better basis for decision-making than examination marks alone.
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A parent may have dreamed of seeing a child become a doctor or engineer, and that dream is understandable, but children are not extensions of their parents. Telling a learner they must take STEM because a parent wants them to become an engineer, without considering the learner’s abilities and interests, can create unnecessary pressure, and a child may comply initially but struggle later because the chosen pathway does not match their strengths. The better approach is to expose the learner to possibilities, provide information and allow informed choices to emerge from discussions involving the learner, parents and teachers.
School category is not the same as career pathway
Another important issue is the relationship between pathway selection and Senior School selection. Parents should understand that a school category is not a career pathway. Senior School categories are broadly classified as C1 (National Schools), C2 (Extra-County Schools), C3 (County Schools) and C4 (Sub-County Schools), and these categories describe schools, while STEM, Social Sciences and Arts and Sports Science describe pathways. A learner therefore does not choose C1 instead of STEM; the learner chooses an appropriate pathway and subject combination, then identifies Senior Schools offering the relevant programme.
There is nothing wrong with aspiring to join a C1 school, but parents should not turn C1 into the only acceptable destination. A school may have an impressive history, but what matters for a particular learner is whether it offers the pathway and subject combination that fit the learner’s aspirations. A C2, C3 or C4 school may provide an excellent environment for a learner depending on its facilities, teachers, programme offerings and suitability. The real question is not what category the school is, but what the school offers the child.
Schools have a major responsibility in this process. Teachers interact with learners every day, observing their academic performance, participation, creativity, problem-solving abilities, practical skills, communication and other competencies, and that information should be used to provide meaningful career guidance. Schools should not simply distribute selection forms and leave learners to make major decisions without adequate information; learners need to understand what each pathway means, the subject combinations available and the possible progression routes beyond Senior School, while parents equally need to be sensitised so they can support informed decisions at home.
A learner choosing Social Sciences is not a failure. A learner choosing Arts and Sports Science is not a failure. A learner choosing Technical Studies within STEM is not less academic than one pursuing Pure Sciences. Success comes in many forms, and Kenya needs entrepreneurs, teachers, lawyers, artists, athletes, journalists, business leaders, scientists, engineers, technologists, skilled technicians and creative professionals. A modern economy requires different talents working together, which is why the education system must create room for different abilities.
Sometimes parental pressure is not really about the child’s future; it is about what neighbours, relatives or friends will say. A parent may boast that a child has joined STEM or a prestigious school while ignoring whether the learner is happy, confident and capable of succeeding there. Education should never become a competition between families, and a child’s future should not be sacrificed for social prestige. The right pathway may not always be the one that attracts the loudest applause.
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The Grade 10 transition offers Kenya an opportunity to change the way society thinks about education. Instead of asking children to fit into one narrow definition of success, the system provides multiple pathways through which different talents can be developed, but the success of the reform will depend heavily on how parents, teachers and learners use it. Parents must listen, teachers must guide, learners must participate, schools must provide accurate information, and society must stop treating one pathway as a symbol of intelligence.
As families make decisions about Grade 10, parents should resist the temptation to ask how to get their child into STEM, and instead ask which pathway gives their child the best opportunity to succeed. That single change in question can transform the entire conversation, because the purpose of education is not to produce children who all follow the same route, but to develop young people who understand their strengths, build useful competencies and are prepared to contribute meaningfully to society. The best parent is not necessarily the one whose child enters the most prestigious school, but the one who takes time to understand the child.
Parents should encourage their children, expose them to opportunities, challenge them to improve, and support them when they struggle, but should not force STEM down their throats simply because they believe it is the only road to success. Let the learner’s talent speak. Let ability guide the decision. Let interest ignite the journey. And let education open the door to a future that belongs to the child, not to the parent’s unfinished dream.
By Hillary Muhalya
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