Former Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary-General Wilson Sossion has hailed the country’s transition to Grade 10 as largely successful, stressing that education must remain free and compulsory for all children.

In an interview with a local radio station on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, Sossion stated that there has been progress in the number and reach of schools in the country, especially with the day secondary schools. He, however, cautioned that learners are avoiding some institutions because of poor infrastructure, lack of teachers and learning facilities.

Sossion pointed out that universal education, free and compulsory education, is the main principle, and thus it is the role of the government to have 100% of children attending Grade 10.

“The Grade 10 transition has been successful, avoiding chaos by improving the old system through public and teacher input… The key principle was to have universal education, compulsory and free, free and compulsory education”, Sossion said.

Sossion has recalled that the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), the project of the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), was implemented as an alternative to the 8-4-4 system, which was accused of emphasising memorisation and exams but not practical skills and creativity. He added that the CBC is designed to equip learners with critical thinking, problem-solving, and digital literacy skills, as well as communication skills, to prepare them for employment, entrepreneurship and lifelong learning.

Introduction of CBC

Introduced in 2017 and put into practice in 2018 with Grade 1, CBC takes a 2-6-3-3-3 pattern: two years of pre-primary, six years of primary, three years of junior secondary, three years of senior secondary, and three years of university education.

Sossion attributed the government directive that gave students permission to come to school without uniforms or paying fees as obstacles that used to restrict access to education. The government has been quite stern on all students to be in school with or without uniforms,’ he said, local administrators and chiefs being especially instrumental in seeing that their orders were obeyed.

The former KNUT secretary general also noted that the growth of day secondary schools has enabled more people to access education, with approximately 74 per cent of learners currently taking up day scholarships. Senior schools have now been scattered throughout the country. There was no longer a need to travel with a senior school, as he said, when this was not the case, as students used to walk long distances to get to the boarding schools.

Sossion calls for action on schools with low enrolment.

Although these gains were made, he still admitted that there are still schools that are facing low enrolment as students opt to attend other schools. Sossion expressed to the education authorities to find out why there are low student enrolments in schools, whose reasons are usually poor infrastructure, teacher shortages and lack of learning facilities.

He urged continued discussion and consultation in developing education policies, in that reforms must be based on professional advice and consultation. Education is essentially a conversation. When we promote constant communication and constant consultations, we will never fail to make the most professional decision, he said.