The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has revealed its intention to roll out Chinese as a subject in schools nationwide.

This decision comes after a high-level meeting held on Friday, April 10, 2026, where officials deliberated on how best to integrate and implement the language within Kenya’s education curriculum.

“The Commission today hosted a high-level engagement on the implementation of Chinese language education in Kenya,” TSC announced.

The meeting held at the TSC Headquarters in Nairobi brought together key education stakeholders to deliberate on strategies for equipping learners with skills suited to the new subject.

Among those present during the meeting was Education Principal Secretary Beatrice Muganda Inyangala, with the Commission emphasising the importance of integrating the language into the Kenyan education system.

Also in attendance were the Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi, Wang Shangxue and officials from TSC led by the Commission Chief Executive Officer, Evaleen Mitei.

The officials emphasised the Commission’s readiness to work with the relevant government agencies and education institutions to roll out the new subject in a structured manner.

Following the engagement, the government is expected to commence piloting the programme in selected schools before a nationwide rollout. 

The piloting will require teachers to undergo specialised training to ensure they are adequately prepared to deliver the new curriculum effectively. 

The move aligns with the country’s growing economic ties with China and the increasing demand for multilingual skills in key sectors such as trade, tourism, technology and diplomacy.

It is also expected to enhance students’ competitiveness in the global job market while promoting cultural understanding and international cooperation between the two nations.

If successfully implemented, the new subject could mark one of the most significant curriculum additions in Kenya’s education system in recent years.

Grade 10 data

This comes days after the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) directed principals of all public senior schools to provide enrolment data for Grade 10 students in preparation for the next phase of textbook distribution.

In a notice published on MyGovt on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, KICD also confirmed the first phase of Grade 10 textbook distribution is complete but acknowledged gaps remain, with some schools holding excess books while others are yet to receive any at all.

“The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) informs all Senior School Principals that the first phase of the distribution of Grade 10 textbooks has been completed, guided by the data initially provided by the Ministry of Education (MoE),” the notice read.

The Institute linked the mismatch to enrolment data initially provided by the Ministry of Education, which did not fully reflect actual student numbers and subject choices at the school level.

Following this directive, school principals must now provide two essential sets of information: the current enrolment of Grade 10 students for each subject and the number of textbooks initially supplied per subject during the first phase.