Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has directed that some form of mathematics be reinstated as a compulsory subject in the senior secondary schools.
Speaking during the National Conversation on the Competency-Based Curriculum on Thursday, Ogamba revealed that the ministry has heard the concerns of the stakeholders and reached the conclusion that some form of mathematics is made compulsory in all pathways.
"The majority of the stakeholders during the CBC dialogue were of the view that mathematics should be compulsory in senior school. We have listened to your concerns, consulted with the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), and reached a resolution that some form of mathematics be made compulsory for the other two pathways that are not STEM," Ogamba directed.
According to the CS, with this new direction, those students who chose the STEM pathway will take pure maths, while the other two pathways will have a simpler version of mathematics.
''We will have the STEM pathways having pure maths and the other two pathways having a form of maths so that we have maths in all three pathways in senior school,'' the CS explained.
Contrary to the 8-4-4 curriculum, where mathematics was a compulsory subject, the ministry had directed that students in senior school now had a chance to drop the subject according to the pathways they chose.
The ministry categorised the pathways into three: Arts and Sports Science, Social Sciences, and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), with students who chose the first two pathways having an opportunity to skip maths.
Ogamba has, however, reversed this decision and directed that these two pathways will have some form of mathematics.
His move to reverse the decision comes after the developments elicited heated debates among Kenyans and relevant stakeholders who argued that it was not a wise choice and posed challenges that could impact Kenya’s workforce and economic sustainability.
The CS assured Kenyans and the stakeholders that their opinions in the education system are valued, and the Ministry takes them seriously in a bid to streamline the CBC curriculum that has received criticism.
''It is an important aspect that we have listened to the views of the Kenyans, and it is an important input that has come from the stakeholders to show that stakeholder conversation is important,'' Ogamba said.
Ogamba has asked the stakeholders and Kenyans at large to support this new move.
Currently, the CS and Principal Secretary Julius Bitok are actively addressing the CBC transition in Kenya. Their focus is on ensuring quality education and tackling challenges like teacher readiness, school infrastructure, and public concerns about CBC implementation.
