Audit 8-4-4 now that it is ending
By Editorial.Team, October 23, 2023Kenyan learners will sit their last Kenya Certificate of Primary Education next week. This is a milestone that ought to call for introspection by education stakeholders as well as the political leadership.
Since 1985, Kenyans have only known the 8-4-4 system of education, introduced by the then President Daniel arap Moi. The system endured lots of criticism about its ability to produce graduates that could meet the demands of employment market and whether the curriculum was fit-for-purpose over the years that it was offered.
To a great extent, the 8-4-4 system was responsible for the proliferation of academies and private secondary schools because of the competition for places in national schools and public universities. This is a unique phenomenon and ought to be studied and compared with other countries in Africa and further afield. Only by so doing will stakeholders understand the dynamics that led to such a significant increase in the number of private education institutions at all levels.
Which is why it would be important for the government to order an audit of the 8-4-4 system with a view to learning from its strengths and weaknesses. These lessons ought to inform the new curriculum, which has changed drastically over the last two years.
It is worth noting that the reforms over the last one or so years were largely due to teething problems and failure by Education Ministry officials charged with designing it to come up with an equity system that could serve all of Kenya’s children irrespective of their social class or geographical circumstances.
As such, if the country is to improve the current system, which is still in its infancy, it would be imperative to thoroughly review the 8-4-4 system and gauge what learnings can be gleaned to benefit the current one.
And even as this is going on, Kenyans should take time to celebrate achievements of the 8-4-4 system and its contribution to nation building given that this is what has guided the country over the last forty years.
Such information can guide policy makers on what to do in future to make Kenya’s education system more competitive globally and position its graduates for the fast changing world of work and the fourth industrial revolution.