Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang has announced that Grade 9 learned will choose senior school pathways within Term Two.

“The plan is to give students time during the school holidays to discuss their options with their parents. This way, when schools reopen, parents will have had the chance to guide their children, and schools will also be familiar with the guidelines so as to ensure everyone is well-prepared,” Dr. Kipsang told the media.

Learners will then be placed to career pathways of their choice based on their abilities, interests and merit. According to Dr. Kipsang, the Ministry of Education has now delinked the selection of schools from the the registration of candidates for national examinations.

Previously, learners in Class 8 were required to make a selection of the secondary schools they would want to join when registering for their national examinations. Under the new model, senior schools will be categorized based on their main career pathways. This classification will either be double or triple pathway schools.

Triple pathway senior schools will offer all career pathways while double pathway senior schools will only offer mathematics and sciences subjects, and a choice of other two subjects from the extra pool.

Previously, the Ministry of Education has been using the model of national, extra-county, county and sub-county system of selections for secondary schools.

This comes a few days after Dr. Kipsang announced that learners in senior schools will not be compelled to pursue mathematics and science subjects.

“In Grade 10, it is not compulsory to do mathematics ad sciences subjects. Because if you are not doing humanities or sciences why would you be required to do mathematics?” Kipsang posed.

While every school will offer mathematics and sciences subjects, not all children from that school will do these subjects.

“The only thing which is compulsory to all schools is that STEM pathways should be done by every school. But doing STEM pathway does not mean that children are forced to do STEM. It is only that it is available.”

Mathematics, science subjects will not be compulsory in senior school

According to Kipsang, all senior schools will be required to offer learners at least two career pathways. One of these pathways will include mathematics, science, engineering, and technology.

This is a radical shift from the 8-4-4 system that is being phased out, which required students in all secondary schools in Kenya to pursue Mathematics as a compulsory subject and at least two sciences among Chemistry, Biology and Physics.