Two schools in one: Principals brace for complex CBE transition

Education CS Julius Ogamba addressing the media during the release of the Kenya Junior Schools Education Assessment (KJSEA) 2025 results at the KNEC Headquarters in Nairobi on December 11, 2025. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

As Kenya prepares to usher in senior school in January, principals are staring at what many describe as the most complex transition since the introduction of free primary education.

For the first time, secondary schools will operate two education systems side by side within the same compound: the outgoing 8-4-4 secondary school and the new Competency-Based Education (CBE) Senior School for Grades 10 to 12, all under the leadership of one principal.

The change is structural, pedagogical and administrative, and school heads say it is coming fast, with limited time to prepare.

Under the arrangement, the same institution will host learners studying the 8-4-4 curriculum, alongside Senior School learners pursuing personalised pathways under CBE.

To avoid confusion, schools will even introduce two different uniforms, visually reinforcing that these are, in effect, two different schools sharing the same space.

“This is not just a curriculum change; it is the running of two schools at the same time. Different learners, different teaching methods, different assessments, different resources,” Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association chairman Willie Kuria told The Standard.

At the centre of the transition are teachers, who will be required to teach two different curricula.

Under 8-4-4, teachers are content deliverers, focused on syllabus coverage and preparing learners for high-stakes national examinations.

This is contrary to CBE senior school, where they must become facilitators of learning, guiding students through projects, practical tasks, creativity and continuous assessment.

 “A high school teacher will be teaching 8-4-4 students in the morning and senior school learners in the afternoon, yet the expectations are totally different,” said a principal in Kiambu County.

According to education stakeholders, senior school teachers must master new skills, project-based learning, formative assessment, learner portfolios, and pathway-specific content across STEM, Social Sciences, and Arts and Sports.

This demands extensive in-service training, which many say has been rushed. Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA) CEO Rose Okaya questioned the effectiveness of current retooling efforts.

“What I discourage is where a large group of teachers are retooled for one day and marked on paper. But who goes back to check if it is effective?” she asked.

Beyond pedagogy, principals say the biggest threat to senior school lies in infrastructure gaps. While many schools have laboratories for traditional sciences, CBE requires far more specialised facilities.

KJSEA top performers celebrate at Lions Academy in Nakuru. [Joseph Kipsang, Standard]

Central Careers CEO Joseph Muraya warned that many schools are ill-equipped to deliver the promised pathways.

“We might have laboratories for subjects taken before, but do we have home science labs, equipped kitchens, art studios, recording rooms? Do we have sports pitches of international standard?” Muraya posed.

Without workshops, studios, sports facilities and creative spaces, schools risk limiting learner choices, undermining the very idea of personalised pathways.

Principals fear that talents in arts, sports and applied skills could be lost simply because schools lack the equipment to nurture them.

Another layer of complexity is school fees. Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok has confirmed that senior school fees will vary slightly depending on the pathway a learner takes, given the differing costs of implementation.

“There could be marginal differences because of the introduction of pathways,” he said.

Education CS Julius Ogamba has, however, maintained that a standard annual boarding fee of Sh53,554 will be charged.

“There will be no change in fees,” Ogamba said.