Nelson Havi urges Kenyans to stop blaming Uhuru for CBC challenges
Former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi has called on Kenyans to stop blaming former President Uhuru Kenyatta for the ongoing issues surrounding the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
In a statement on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, Havi emphasised that the current administration, under President William Ruto’s leadership, has the responsibility to address the challenges, as it was given the opportunity to correct the situation.
Havi pointed out that instead of taking immediate action, Ruto chose to form a committee to ratify the curriculum rather than directly tackling the issues.
He urged Kenyans to shift their focus from blaming Kenyatta and hold the current administration accountable for resolving the CBC challenges.
“We must stop blaming President Uhuru Kenyatta for CBC. President William Ruto was given a perfect opportunity to remedying this catastrophe but instead set up a committee to ratify it,” Havi said.
He also criticised Parliament for its failure to legislate and provide adequate oversight of the Ministry of Education on the curriculum, further compounding the challenges.
“Similarly, Parliament has refused to legislate and oversight the Ministry of Education on CBC,” he added.
CBC structure
The 8-4-4 system was retained until 2017 when the government introduced CBC in a bid to instil practical skills rather than theoretical know-how in learners.
While the structure of education has remained intact since its implementation in 1985, the curriculum has undergone several reviews in 1990, 1992, 1995, and 2003.
“Nevertheless, the majority of citizens feel strongly that the current system of education (including both structure and curriculum) is not fit for purpose. This was confirmed by findings of a summative evaluation of primary and secondary education curricula conducted by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) in 2009 and a national needs assessment study, also conducted by KICD in 2016,” UNESCO stated in a 2017 report.
In the early years of education, CBC entails pre-primary 1 and 2 (between ages 4 and 5) and lower primary education (grades 1, 2, and 3) for ages 6 to 8.
Middle school education covers upper primary education for grades 4, 5, and 6 (ages 9 to 11) and junior secondary education (grades 7, 8, and 9) for ages 12 to 14.
The senior school covers grades 10, 11, and 12 for ages 15 to 17. At this level, learners will have a choice of joining one of three pathways: Arts and Sports, Social Sciences, or Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
