Doubt over CBE transition as learners sent home despite govt mop-up claims

Education Principal Secretary Prof. Julius Bitok has dismissed a Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) report indicating that more than 150,000 learners under the Competency Based Education system dropped out before completion.

However, this denial sharply contrasts with findings from a Citizen TV spot check, which reveal that a February mop-up exercise by the State Department of Education did not reflect reality.

Learners reportedly placed in various schools were sent home shortly after reporting, casting doubt on claims of a 100 per cent transition rate.

The February Spotcheck highlighted Grade 10 learners in Mukuru kwa Njenga stranded at home due to lack of school fees, and the Ministry of Education issued a nationwide call. In what it described as a mop-up exercise for Grade 10 learners, the ministry promised that no child would be left behind and that all affected learners would be placed in schools.

Responding to the call, scores of learners and parents gathered at the Embakasi South Deputy County Commissioner’s office, hopeful that government intervention had finally arrived, restoring dreams of education long on hold. But that hope was short-lived.

What was presented as a structured placement exercise has now been called into question. According to Citizen TV findings, learners were briefly admitted into schools, only to be sent back home soon after reporting amid claims from administrators that no government funding had been received and no formal commitment had been made.

 “Alikuja akatupeleka Embakasi Girls, tukapatiwa uniform tukapigwa picha na yeye, vile aliondoka tukaambiwa uniform haijalipiwa na tukafukuzwa hakulipa school fees. Tulikua wasichana sita na tulifukuzwa wote na hatujawai rudi. Alisema hatuwezi rudi shule na karo haijalipwa," said an Embakasi Girls student, Beverline Okelo.

Eric Mutua, a Grade 10 learner, was offered placement at Ngoto Boys High School in Makueni County during a mop-up exercise led by Dr William Sugut, the Director of Secondary Education at the Ministry of Education.

He and his mother were assured that all arrangements had been made, with Dr. Sugut confirming he had spoken to the principal and that the school was ready to receive him.

However, that assurance later proved inaccurate, as the promised placement never materialised.

“Wakati naona Rais ama CS wa education akisema watoto wote wa Grade 10 waliripoti shule na mi sijawai ripoti naskia vibaya. Ningeomba kurudi shule niendelee na masomo yangu ili nitimize ndoto yangu," Eric, the Grade 10 dropout, said.

Eric’s mother added, "Tuliambiwa na mkubwa tupeleke mtoto shule, tulipoenda tulirudishwa tukaambiwa hakuna simu ilipigwa ama pesa imelipwa so mtoto hawezi kuingia shule bila pesa so nikaambiwa nirudi nyumbani na mtoto.”

Eric and many others in Mukuru are now part of a troubling statistic captured in a report attributed to KNEC, which indicates that more than 150,000 learners from the first CBE cohort dropped out before completing their studies.

In 2019, about 1.282 million learners were registered in Grade 4 as the pioneer cohort of the new curriculum, but by the time they sat their Grade 9 assessment, only 1.130 million boys and girls presented themselves for evaluation and senior school placement — translating to about 150,000 learners slipping through the cracks.

The figures have cast renewed doubt on the system’s ability to retain learners and sustain continuity.

The PS for Basic Education has, however, disowned the report, saying it was not released by KNEC or any government agency, despite it being presented at the KNEC headquarters and bearing the council’s official logo.

“I am aware there is a report issued recently. We do not agree with the figures… KNEC has not released any report… In the event there are students who have dropped out, we ensure we mop up," Bitok stated.

Bitok has maintained that the government is recording near 100 per cent transition rates and insists that the Competency Based Education system remains transformative, disputing the reported dropout figures.