The government’s plan to place top-performing Grade 9 learners in national schools has raised concerns that the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) is veering off course, replacing its learner-centred pathway model with the old merit-based ranking system.
Introduced to move away from high-stakes examinations, the CBC emphasized continuous assessment and talent pathways in STEM, Social Sciences, or Arts and Sports Sciences. However, recent placement guidelines mirror the 8-4-4 system, where top scorers are rewarded with slots in prestigious institutions.
Education stakeholders now warn that the move could undermine the reform’s core objective, nurturing competencies rather than promoting competition. They argue that the return of merit-based selection contradicts the promise of equal opportunity and inclusive learning.
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Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Secretary-General Akelo Misori criticized the ministry’s decision, saying it risks reintroducing the exam anxiety CBC was meant to eliminate.
“The ministry should have stuck to the pathway-based classification of schools instead of ranking learners again,” he said.
Dr. Njengere, however, maintained that the Grade 9 assessment is designed to guide learners into appropriate pathways rather than rank them, a position that appears at odds with the merit-based placement approach announced by the ministry.
Yet with 2.4 million learners expected to transition to Grade 10 in January, critics say the government’s actions will determine whether CBC becomes a genuine shift in educational philosophy, or just a rebranded version of the old exam-driven system.
By Mercy Kokwon
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