Let's prioritise quality learning this year

We all eat food, breathe air and go to school. It’s no wonder the brain is near the mouth and nose.

Like maize, education has been a focus of every government, from the colonial era to the present. 

The colonial government neglected it. The post-independence governments overcontrolled it.

The over-control is subtle through content and examination. Why does the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) enjoy a monopoly? 

Who decides what our children should study? Remember that the big debate on Competency-Based Education (CBE) was about the placement of junior secondary, teaching methodology, and examinations, not the content. 

Curriculum content is as important as a constitution; it should be put to a referendum.  

There has been no robust debate on what should be taught, from kindergarten to university.

That should be the crux of the matter. It does not matter if it’s taught through “A” level (still in Uganda and Tanzania), 8-4-4 or CBE. The colour of the cat does not matter, as long as it can catch a mouse, say the Chinese.  

What’s taught is examined, and a certificate is awarded at the end of the cycle. The 8-4-4 system removed one cycle “A” level.

CBE has reintroduced the level, “Senior” School. I would prefer “High School.” “Senior” has colonial connotations. 

My view is that frequent changes in our education system, instead of focusing on the content is driven by the need to leave a legacy just like the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), the Thika Superhighway and the Nairobi Expressway. An education system is a soft legacy. 

I am eager to sample the content of CBE and compare it with 8-4-4. Are Vasco Da Gama and Zinjanthropus still there? What about Covid-19, nano-technology, AI (artificial intelligence), astrobiology, computational chemistry and fractal geometry there?  

What other key education issues should we address in 2026? 

One is the “supermarket effect.” If you want to meet all the nationalities, tribes and races, just go shopping in our leading supermarkets. Why can’t our schools be like that? Why are some “shoppers” missing in our schools?  

Two is the scarcity of good schools. Does it surprise you that the “original” national schools like Alliance, Mang’u, Maseno, Kenya High, among others, are still every child’s dream?

They are well known, not just to parents and their children but also to employers. And they have good facilities, from labs to dorms and play fields. 

I got through one of these schools and taught in a rural school. I now know what a good school is. Some of these schools are more competitive than Harvard. 

We simply have not invested in schools. What is the school equivalent investment of SGR, expressway, or superhighway? Why is the housing fund not going to schools? I thought dorms and university hostels were housing? 

Three, why are schools changing names? Are the alumni/alumnae, parents and other stakeholders consulted? Good examples. When did Parklands become Dr Ribiero?

When did Mwenje in Laikipia become St. Mary’s, when did Maryhill become Mt. Carmel? When did Mukumu Girls become Sacred Heart? When did Chania Girls School become MP Shah Chania Girls High School?

You can add to the list. Four is “silo” mentality. How much interaction is there among the different school levels - kindergarten, primary, secondary and university? 

Any interaction between the University of Nairobi (UoN) and Statehouse Girls’ School?

How about Kúraiha Primary School and Mang’u High School? What of Laikipia University and Njonjo Girls’ School? 

Five, despite the legacy, popularity and prestige of original national schools, the drift is now towards private schools.

A 100 per cent transition without commensurate investment in infrastructure made national schools less attractive.

Add the promotion of several schools to national status, which further diluted their status; they became “too common.”  

We often forget there is a layer on top of national schools - the international schools. Like 5-star hotels, we know so little about them because of pricing.  

Six, we must constantly ask why we go to school. It’s no longer about jobs. The popular mantra is to create jobs. Do we really prepare our students to be job creators?

Though I knew what Neanderthal man and Zinjanthropus ate, I had no clue how my local shopkeeper made his money or how my local cooperative society made it easier for my parents to pay fees.

We visit supermarkets every day. Are their supply chains discussed in classrooms?  Why do we expect D and E students to be entrepreneurs and not A or B students?

Who can contest that entrepreneurship is harder than engineering or medicine? What is easier, designing a bridge or starting a Google equivalent? What is easier, performing a surgery or building up Safaricom? 

Seven, schools share fences with “reality.” That includes farms, towns, rivers, oceans, and slums. Should we have that reality in the curriculum?

Would that make us better masters of our universe after graduation? Is confidence to solve personal and societal problems not one of the best takeaways from school? Content again! 

Eight, our children have access to the latest technology, music, and movies. What of the latest knowledge in every field, from the sciences to the humanities?

Books contain packaged and often outdated knowledge. Can we use technology to get the latest knowledge to class?

What happened to laptops in school? We didn’t want to put printers out of business? Why should digital natives use books?  

Nine is internationalisation. Clearly, most Kenyans will never leave this country. We should bring home experiences from other countries.

How did Japan and Germany rise after World War II? How did the US become a superpower? Why has oil been a curse?

How did China turn the tables with electric cars? Why is Mauritius doing so well? Do Kenyans in the diaspora remit new ideas beyond money? 

Finally, as we open schools, funding can’t be wished away. Affordability and access should be the bedrocks of a good education system.

More so when a good education gives you lifelong privileges and advantages, some intergenerational. What pressing issue for 2026 have I left out?