8-4-4 Dropouts to Return to School Under CBC

The Cabinet Secretary for Education, Julius Migos Ogamba together with the Principal Secretary, State Department for Higher Education and Research, Dr. Beatrice Muganda Inyangala, when they appeared before the National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Education and Governance

Thousands of students who left the 8-4-4 education system may soon have the opportunity to return to school.

The Ministry of Education is developing new guidelines that will enable these learners to re-enter the education system under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).

The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) has been assigned the task of creating a CBC pathway specifically designed for adult learners.

The proposal states, “Many students who dropped out were either too old or came from non-formal education backgrounds. There were no clear avenues for them to reintegrate into the CBC system, and adult education programs had not been aligned with the new curriculum.”

The Cabinet Secretary for Education, Dr. 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐠𝐨𝐬 𝐎𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐚, when he appeared before the Senate plenary on Wednesday May 7th, 2025 to address inquiries raised by Senators concerning various matters within the education sector.

The new plan will allow adult and out-of-school learners to learn outside the traditional classroom setting.

They will have the flexibility to attend classes at times that suit them, making education more accessible for those with jobs or family obligations.

Additionally, the ministry plans to expand adult education centers nationwide, particularly in regions with high adult illiteracy rates.

These centers will provide programs such as accelerated learning and recognition of prior learning (RPL), which acknowledges and credits skills and knowledge acquired outside formal education.

However, those wishing to return to secondary school through this initiative will only be allowed to enroll in day schools.

This initiative comes in response to increasing concerns about rising dropout rates in the 8-4-4 system.

An analysis indicates that over 500,000 students who took the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) in recent years did not continue to the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) four years later.

In 2020, 1,179,192 students sat for the KCPE, but only 965,501 were enrolled for the KCSE in 2024, resulting in a shortfall of 213,691 students.

Similar patterns were observed in previous years. In 2022, 170,948 students who took the KCPE in 2018 were missing from the KCSE data. In 2023, the gap was 184,003 students.

Education stakeholders have praised the ministry’s proposal, stating that it addresses a long-standing issue.

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