The Ministry of Education (MoE) has dismissed social media reports suggesting that it would rebrand secondary schools and change the institutions’ learning system.

The reports circulating online had it that secondary schools would be renamed “CBC Senior Schools” and would not be categorised on academic terms.

According to the claimant, the schools would be turned into career pathway centres aimed at preparing learners for their career goals rather than academic excellence, with national schools that accommodate single genders set to be turned into mixed schools.

However, in a tweet on Saturday, March 1, the MoE dismissed the claims, flagging them as fake. The ministry did not give further information regarding the matter, raising questions on its earlier reports.

In April last year, the Ministry revealed plans to effectively end the ranking of secondary schools by merit.

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Speaking on April 25, during the Inaugural Annual Symposium on Competency-Based Assessment, Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang said all secondary schools would be renamed senior schools and categorised according to the pathways they offer.

“Secondary schools will soon be categorised according to the pathways they will offer…We will soon convene a stakeholders engagement on the pathways and pathway placement in Senior School,” Kipsang said.

According to the PS, the re-categorization of secondary schools will pave the way for a new, three-tiered system aligned with the rollout of CBC.

It will see the institutions identified based on the subjects offered. This includes; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Centres, Humanities and Arts Schools, and Creative Arts and Sports Schools.

This is unlike the now phased-out 8-4-4 system, where secondary schools were categorised as national, extra-county, county, and sub-county, depending on their performance.

For transition, learners will sit a written examination just like the KCPE, which, alongside classroom assessment, will guide them toward the specific category of senior school they will join.