- Prof. George Wajackoyah has suggested reducing Kenya’s school day to four hours, arguing it would promote creativity, talent development, and family interaction over long classroom hours.
- Supporters see it as progressive and learner‑friendly, while critics warn it could strain teachers and compromise syllabus coverage without curriculum reforms.
- Experts note that countries like Finland and Germany succeed with shorter school days due to efficient systems, while Kenya would need sweeping reforms to maintain standards.
Former presidential candidate Prof. George Wajackoyah has reignited national debate with a radical proposal to shorten the school day to just four hours, arguing that Kenya’s education system should shift focus from long classroom hours to nurturing creativity, practical skills, and holistic child development.
Outlining his vision, Wajackoyah said children spend excessive time in school, often leaving home early and returning late, only to continue with homework. He believes this routine stifles innovation, sports, entrepreneurship, and family interaction, insisting that quality learning should be measured by competencies rather than hours spent in class.
Supporters of the proposal describe it as progressive, noting that shorter school days could ease stress, improve mental health, and give learners more opportunities to explore talents in music, agriculture, technology, and the arts. They argue that academic performance depends more on effective teaching and curriculum design than on the sheer number of hours in class.
Critics, however, question the practicality of the idea. They warn that Kenya’s extensive curriculum requires sufficient instructional time, especially for candidates preparing for national examinations. Without curriculum restructuring, they say, reducing classroom hours would place enormous pressure on teachers and compromise syllabus coverage.
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Education experts emphasize that implementing a four-hour school day would demand sweeping reforms. These include curriculum adjustments, teacher workload redistribution, new assessment models, improved learning resources, and stronger investment in practical and digital learning. They add that consultations with teachers’ unions, parents, administrators, and the Ministry of Education would be essential before such a change could be considered.
The debate comes as Kenya continues rolling out the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system, which emphasizes creativity, innovation, collaboration, and talent development alongside academics. Analysts note that Wajackoyah’s proposal resonates with aspects of CBE but caution that reducing school hours alone cannot achieve its goals without broader structural reforms.
International comparisons have also surfaced. In countries such as Finland, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, younger learners often attend school for four to five hours daily. These systems succeed because they are supported by highly trained teachers, efficient curricula, smaller class sizes, and advanced learning resources. By contrast, the United States maintains longer school days, averaging 5.5 to 7.5 hours depending on grade level, with only preschool and kindergarten programmes occasionally running shorter schedules.
For Kenya, experts argue that adopting a four-hour school day would require a comprehensive review of timetables, teacher deployment, assessment methods, and resource allocation to safeguard learning standards. Without such reforms, they caution, the proposal risks undermining learner outcomes.
Whether Wajackoyah’s idea remains a campaign talking point or evolves into policy, it has succeeded in sparking a critical national conversation. It challenges policymakers, educators, and parents to reconsider whether success should continue to be measured by time spent in classrooms or by the skills, values, and creativity learners carry into the future.
By Hillary Muhalya
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