Over recent years the Kenyan government has been making major changes to the school system, introducing a ‘Competency-based Curriculum’ (CBC) structure. These are fundamental and one key aspect will see secondary school children able to specialise in one of three pathways:
| 1. Arts and Sports Science: | Sports Performing Arts Visual Arts |
| 2. Social Sciences: | Languages and Literature Humanities Business Studies |
| 3. Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: | Pure Sciences Applied Sciences Technical and Engineering Careers and Technology Studies |
This is welcomed and will certainly benefit children who could until now only study more traditional subjects.
The highlights of these changes are:
- From 8-4-4 to 2-6-6-3 (see below)
- Now includes pre-primary
- Primary becomes 6 years
- Secondary becomes 6 years, split into 3 years of Junior Secondary and 3 years of Senior Secondary
- Children will specialise in senior secondary
- There will be fewer exams and more continuous assessment.
New v. Old
The changes began in 2017 and here’s how it looks (the arrow shows where we are today):
The last pupils to begin their schooling under the old system are due to enter Form Two of Secondary in January. This includes students who are receiving RRBF scholarships, who will complete their final three years under this regime.
New system – Junior Secondary School
So far we have not offered scholarships to pupils under this new system, as we waited to see how the system would be operated.
Pupils began entering Grade 7 at Junior Secondary School in January 2023 and are now completing Grade 8. They will enter Grade 9 in January 2025, then move on to Grade 10 at Senior Secondary School in January 2026.
It is now (but only now) becoming clearer– with Junior Secondary School being an extension of the primary schools, most of which will be day schools, meaning that pupils will spend two extra years in day school. This leaves us with grave concerns.
Why is this a problem?
Our experience from providing secondary school scholarships over the last twelve years is that boarding schools in Kenya (a) simply provide a better education as children spend more time actually in school learning, and (b) protect boys and girls from harm including physical and sexual abuse.
We therefore anticipate the move towards day schools will see:
- A significant number of pupils who will not make the transition from primary and Junior Secondary School due to the imposition of fees of 15,000 Ksh (approx. £100) for all places and will drop out of education completely.
- More pupils will then drop out during Junior Secondary when families cannot meet these fees.
- Attendance at Junior Secondary day schools will be lower as children are often required to complete chores at home which keeps them at home on certain days; schooling becomes disrupted.
- The education they receive in Junior Secondary School will be below the level of existing boarding schools due to lack of resources (like laboratories) and inadequate teacher numbers and training.
- Children will struggle to complete homework as many don’t have electricity and few have a laptop or internet access at home; and there is often no parent to support a child’s learning if they are absent or did not complete school themselves .
- Our experience over the last ten years is that girls who attend secondary school as day pupils are subject to abuse from local men and youths; with more girls becoming day pupils at Junior Secondary School, this will lead to increased rates of pregnancy and further school drop-outs .
- Increased numbers of boys attending day Junior Secondary School will be tempted into drugs, alcohol, glue and crime by gangs and older youths on the way to and from school.
As a result the gap between wealthy and poor will grow wider, with children from rich families having access to more support and resources so more easily able to complete assignments and continuous assessment under the new system.
This is a dispiriting picture.
However it also emphasises the important role that RRBF plays and perhaps that our role will become even more important, in helping kids from poor background simply to get an education. Surely this is the minimum they deserve?
So what are we doing?
RRBF plans for 2025
We now know that some Junior Secondary Schools will offer boarding places. So from January 2025 we will again offer new scholarships. These will for three years and there will be two types of scholarship for children entering Junior Secondary School:
- Scholarships of up to 50,000 Ksh for a child as a boarding pupil = £300 + gift aid
We strongly believe that boarding school offers the best education but also better protects a child’s welfare while they study.
However there will be a limited number of boarding school places at Junior Secondary Schools and many children will have to take up a day school place.
It is still better that children attend day school than stay at home with no education and some families will still struggle to meet the fees for day school. So we will also offer:
- Scholarships of 15,000 Ksh for a child as a day pupil = £100 + gift aid.
As always RRBF scholarships are specifically for children from families of low income meaning the child would not be in school without our support.
The new scholarships DO NOT relate to Senior Secondary School. Children will not be admitted into Senior Secondary School until January 2026, so we will review our scholarships at the end of next year to assess the feedback and impact.
If you have questions about our scholarships or would like more information, then please do get in touch – neil@redrubberball.co.uk.
Let’s give more children an education.