The roll-out of Competency-Based Education (CBE) for senior schools is here. The clock is ticking. It does not pause for schools that are unprepared. Principals of senior schools, ask yourself: are your teachers ready? Are your classrooms ready? Are your laboratories ready? Are your libraries stocked? Are your ICT facilities functional? Are your students ready to learn differently? Senior schools that prepare will surge ahead. Those that hesitate will fall behind. The difference between School A and School B is today. Excellence or mediocrity. Success or failure. There is no middle ground.
CBE is not a curriculum tweak. It is a revolution. It demands senior school learners who can think critically. Learners who can solve real problems. Learners who can apply knowledge in practical, real-world situations. Learners who can collaborate, innovate, and adapt. Rote memorization is dead. Old exam-focused methods will not work. Teachers in senior schools must be trained—not once, but continuously. Classrooms must be equipped for hands-on learning. Laboratories must be functional, safe, and ready for experiments. ICT tools must be available, and teachers must know how to use them effectively. Lesson plans must align with competencies, not exam schedules. Assessment must be continuous, reflective, and focused on skills, not mere scores.
Ask yourself again: if you cannot answer “yes” confidently to all these questions, your senior school is not ready. Your students will pay the price. Your school will be left behind. Your reputation will suffer. Parents will lose confidence. Learners will struggle. Complacency is not an option. Hesitation is a risk too high to take. Leadership is non-negotiable. Principals, boards, and administrators of senior schools must act now. The time for excuses has passed.
Adequate preparation now will make the difference between School A and School B. Senior schools that act decisively will produce learners who are confident, competent, and future-ready. Those that delay, procrastinate, or cling to outdated methods will produce students who are anxious, frustrated, and unprepared. Readiness is everything. Readiness is not about appearances. It is not about claiming to be ready. It is about evidence: trained teachers, functional facilities, lesson plans mapped to competencies, practical assessment systems, and active engagement with parents and communities. Senior schools that meet these requirements will thrive. Those that fail will falter.
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Leadership cannot wait for the Ministry of Education to fix gaps. The Ministry provides guidelines, timelines, and support. But it cannot walk into your senior school classrooms, train your teachers, or inspect every lesson. That responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of school leadership. Retrain staff. Reorient students. Overhaul assessment systems. Transform school culture. Build an environment where learning is active, practical, and student-centered. Every day of delay is a betrayal. Every hesitation is a failure of duty.
Principals, ask yourself: are your staff motivated? Are your teachers engaged? Are they ready to adopt CBE fully, or are they still clinging to old habits? Students will follow the lead of their teachers. If teachers are unprepared, students will stumble. If classrooms are ill-equipped, learning will falter. If assessment is still exam-driven, competencies will remain unmeasured. The chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Ensure every link is strong, or face the consequences.
The stakes are high. Very high. CBE will succeed where senior schools are proactive, vigilant, and courageous. It will fail where institutions procrastinate or merely pay lip service to change. Senior schools that take bold action now will become models of excellence. They will attract the best teachers. They will inspire students. They will earn the trust of parents and communities. Those that fail to act decisively will struggle to catch up. They will watch as others excel. They will become cautionary tales.
Every decision you make today shapes the future of your senior school learners. Every policy, every timetable adjustment, every teacher training session, every facility upgrade counts. Complacency is a luxury senior schools cannot afford. Hesitation is a risk they cannot take. Excuses are irrelevant. The clock does not pause for indecision. The roll-out is here.
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Principals must step up. Boards must act. Teachers must embrace change. Parents must demand accountability. Communities must support progress. Adequate preparation now will determine whether your senior school produces learners who are ready for higher education, the job market, and life beyond the classroom—or leaves them unprepared and disadvantaged. School A acts. School B hesitates. School A thrives. School B falls behind. The choice is yours.
Do not wait. Do not delay. Do not procrastinate. The time to act is now. Train your teachers. Equip your laboratories. Upgrade your ICT. Revise your lesson plans. Reorient your students. Overhaul your assessment systems. Build a culture of learning that is active, practical, and student-centered. Every day counts. Every decision counts. Every failure to act is a failure of duty.
Remember: the difference between School A and School B is not luck. It is not chance. It is preparation. It is leadership. It is action. Senior schools that prepare adequately will produce learners who are competent, confident, and ready for the future. Those that delay will leave students unprepared and frustrated. Excellence is earned. Readiness is required. Action is mandatory.
The future of Kenyan education depends on this moment. The success of every learner in your senior school depends on your action today. Step up. Lead boldly. Prepare fully. Equip comprehensively. Train relentlessly. Transform completely. The clock is ticking. The roll-out is here. The difference between success and failure, between School A and School B, lies in your hands today.
Do not wait. Do not hesitate. Step up or step aside. The learners are watching. The parents are watching. The nation is watching. The future is now.
By Hillary Muhalya
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