January 2026 marks a historic milestone as the first Competency Based Education (CBE) cohort enters Grade 10 (Senior School) in Kenya. This transition requires students to choose “pathways” (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Social Sciences, or Arts and Sports) that will define their careers and destiny. However, the Usawa Agenda Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLANA) 2025 report provides a sobering reality check: while Kenya builds the “roof” (senior school labs and digital portals), the “floor” beneath the student is collapsing.
The STEM Gap: A Seven-Year Deficit
Kenya aims to channel 60% of learners into STEM in order to achieve its dream of a “STEM driven economy”. Yet, FLANA 2025 reveals that 3 out of 10 Grade 6 learners and a significant number in Grade 9 still struggle with Grade 3 math. The students’ struggles in STEM, including math, can be linked to insufficient resources in schools, with FLANA 2025 revealing that only 23.7% of schools have functional computer labs. Additionally, Junior Schools (JS), especially in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) and rural areas are still understaffed with teachers who are yet to be adequately prepared for CBE. Consequently, students who struggle in numeracy are entering Grade 10 with a seven-year learning gap. Without proper grounding in foundational logic, the abstract reasoning necessary for Senior School STEM will remain out of reach for a third of the transition cohort. To address this challenge, Senior Schools should consider teaching foundational concepts to learners who missed them at lower levels of education before embarking on complex Grade 10 STEM curricula.
Literacy and the Social Sciences
The Social Science pathway demands deep reading, critical analysis and writing. However, FLANA 2025 shows that over 50% of Grade 6 pupils cannot read and comprehend a Grade 3 story. Transitioning these students into language-dependent subjects such as Geography, History and Literature without proper grounding in Foundational Literacy invites mass underperformance at Senior Schools. Consequently, there is need for Senior Schools to shift the focus from “finishing the syllabus” to competency-based literacy interventions in Grade 10 to ensure that students can actually digest the material.
The Arts and Sports Illusion
Arts and Sports are often perceived as “easy” alternatives to students who struggle academically. However, this pathway still requires functional numeracy for contracts and sports science. Accordingly, FLANA 2025 cautions against early specialization before students form a solid foundation in basic math and literacy. Yet, poor infrastructure, including lack of basic changing rooms, renders quality teaching of sports science nearly impossible in many public schools.
The Way Forward
Transition does not automatically translate to progress. While moving a student to Grade 10 is a logistical achievement, ensuring that they can learn is an educational one. Therefore, without comprehensively addressing foundational learning issues, the Ministry of Education (MoE) in Kenya is simply moving a learning crisis into a more expensive building. Accordingly, the first step towards success should be employment of enough teachers in all public schools across the country, especially in the ASAL regions, by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC). Secondly, foundational learning teacher preparation and retooling for CBE, especially in numeracy and literacy, should be intensified and regularized at scale. To be well equipped, teachers need to undergo a series of well-structured trainings and not just a one-off workshop. Thirdly, the MoE should allow schools to cautiously explore utilization of remedial tools to support learners who are struggling in in numeracy and literacy. Care must be taken to avoid putting pressure on the learners or unknowingly re-introducing memorization and rote learning that the education system is phasing out through CBE. Lastly, placement in Senior School pathways should be based on a realistic assessment of foundational skills and proper guidance of students, not just student “interest.”
