Qualitative education should be the antidote to curriculum crisis

Students and teachers of Riabigutu Secondary celebrate at the streets of Masimba Town in Kisii County after recording a historic A- in 2025 KCSE results. [Stanley Ongwae, Standard]

In Kenya, where the median age is 20 and over half the population is under 25, education should be the engine of transformation.

Yet, our system remains trapped in a quantitative quagmire, obsessed with enrollment figures, exam scores, and graduation rates, while sidelining the qualitative essence that truly empowers learners.

I pose this hypothetical: It is not the education that changes one, it is what one makes of education. As we navigate the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) era in 2026, I critique the pitfalls of quantitative dominance and advocate for a qualitative shift; one that prioritises depth, critical thinking and holistic growth over superficial metrics.

Quantitative education, epitomised by the old 8-4-4 system and lingering in CBC’s implementation, reduces learning to numbers. Success is measured by how many students enroll, which boasts of near-universal primary access since 2003’s Free Primary Education, pass standardised tests like the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education, or transition to secondary school. This approach fuels rote memorisation, where pupils cram facts for exams but emerge ill-equipped for real-world challenges. Some millennials and younger Gen-X will argue that they turned out okay nevertheless, but I counter that the system favoured those at the front of the queue and left those at the back to find their way through life.

In Kenya, youth unemployment hovers at 13-15 per cent, an indictment that our schools produce certificate-holders, not innovators. Quantitative metrics ignore the why and how — why do children struggle with literacy and numeracy skills by the end of primary school despite high attendance? How does curriculum overload stifle creativity? Instead, they breed inequality; rural kids in overcrowded classrooms experiencing teacher shortage score lower, perpetuating cycles of poverty.

Contrast this with qualitative education, which focuses on meaningful outcomes, such as mastering problem-solving skills, emotional intelligence, and ethical reasoning. It’s about nurturing talents through hands-on projects, interdisciplinary learning, and personalised pathways — elements CBC promises but often fails to deliver due to resource gaps.

Qualitative approaches value formative assessments over high-stakes exams, fostering resilience in a demographic dividend ripe for exploitation.

Prof Humphrey Oborah, Secretary General of the World Talent Federation, advocated this approach with fervor but could not surmount the political schematics in the educational ecosystem driven by government bureaucrats.

In an interview on Spice FM, he lamented that the same bureaucrats conflated talent with competence, providing the distinction that one is an outcome, while the other is the thing. He shared further that natural abilities in their metric values are called talent, while competence is a measured outcome.

Countries like Finland thrive on qualitative models, with shorter school days emphasizing play and inquiry, yielding happier, more adaptable citizens. The critique sharpens when examining Kenya’s ecosystem flaws. Players like the Ministry of Education, KICD, and CUE operate quantitatively; prioritising enrollment targets over teacher training quality or infrastructure equity. P

Public participation is often tokenistic — consultations exist on paper, but parents’ voices on CBC burdens, such as costly materials go unheeded. This quantitative bias mocks Vision 2030’s social and political pillars.

Depoliticisation is key; reforms are hijacked by elite interests, rushing implementations without adequate pilots, leading to inefficiencies that hit under-19 Gen-Z and Gen Alpha hardest. Advocating qualitative over quantitative isn’t rejecting metrics altogether but subordinating them to deeper indicators. Measure success by graduate employability surveys, innovation patents from schools, or community impact projects to prove the immediate value of CBC/CBE.

Resourcing must follow. Boost education budgets to 6 per cent of GDP for digital tools and teacher development, ensuring qualitative delivery in low income homes.

Depoliticise by empowering independent evaluations, integrating Gen Alpha and Gen-Z feedback loops, and aligning curricula with local needs, not donor agendas.

Kenya demands qualitative education to unlock true potential. Clinging to quantitative illusions risks a lost generation—memorisers in a world craving creators. By embracing depth over digits, we honor our children’s futures, transforming education from a numbers game into a life-shaping force; action must follow.