KICD Drafts Senior Secondary School Curriculum: SSS Pathways for Student
According to Prof. Ong’ondo, KICD has already drafted the curriculum for SSS, and dissemination of these drafts will begin next year so that teachers may become acquainted with the material.
Students will be able to pursue a field of study that is tailored to their own interests and career goals thanks to the options provided by these trajectories.
According to Education CS Ezekiel Machogu’s presentation to secondary school principals, “the governing boards of each of your schools need to prepare early for the pathways that will be offered in your institutions within the next two years.”
SSS will be implemented in secondary schools in their current form in accordance with the Basic Education Curriculum Framework.
Formative and summative assessments are used in CBC, which is currently being introduced in Junior Secondary Schools (JSS), to put students in colleges and universities.
The final 8-4-4 class is in Standard 8 this year, marking the end of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams.
In 2026, the currently enrolled grade 7 will become the first cohort to transition from JSS to SSS.
As with JSS, the Ministry of Education will be responsible for creating an implementation matrix and issuing instructions for SSS.
“While we appreciate the decision to locate JSS at the primary level, it’s important that we start looking at the pathways to make decisions on which pathways the secondary schools should take.
We should use the two years to assess ourselves in order to make decisions on the pathways,” said Mr. Indimuli Kahi, the chairperson of Kessha.
Having had the opportunity to explore their own potential, interests, and personalities, CBC students in high school will choose to focus on one of three professional tracks.
Professional Tracks in CBC: STEM, Arts and Sport, and Social Sciences
The three options are STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), Arts and Sport, and Social Sciences. Students can tailor their educational experience by selecting from multiple paths along each road.
Sports (Physical Education, Sports, and Recreation); Performing Arts (Physical Education, Sports, and Recreation; Music, Dance, Drama, and Film); and Visual Arts (Applied Arts, Fine Arts) will make up the Arts and Sports Science pathway.
Languages and Literature (English, English Literature, Communication Skills, Indigenous Languages, Arabic, French, German, Mandarin Chinese), Humanities and Social Studies (Christian Religious Education, Islamic Religious Education, Hindu Religious Education, Community Service Learning, Business Studies, History and Citizenship, Geography), and Indigenous Languages will all be part of the Social Sciences track.
Pure science (biology, chemistry, physics, general mathematics, advanced mathematics, life sciences, physical sciences), applied science (computing, science, health, food and nutrition, home and hospitality management, ICT), technical engineering (metal technology, wood technology, aviation technology, electrical technology, power mechanics, textile technology, and design), and vocation/technical studies (hairstyling and cosmetology) make up the Stem disciplines.
Secondary schools have teachers who are qualified to teach these courses, as well as the appropriate facilities; therefore, we don’t anticipate facing the same difficulties as JSS.
The technological branch of Stem will be responsible for the minor difficulties.
The government is compiling a database of secondary schools, with the goal of having at least one comprehensive institution in each attendance zone.
The strategy calls for schools to pool their resources with local institutions that offer technical and vocational training, according to Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) chief executive Charles Ong’ondo.
Prof. Ong’ondo has stated that the end of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams will be signaled by the fact that students graduating from Senior Secondary School under CBC will be aware of some of their results before sitting their final examinations.
In 2028, when the first group of students to take the KCSE will be in high school, the new requirements will be implemented.
The SSS final exam will only count for a portion of your final mark; the other two years (Grades 10 and 11) will be weighted more heavily.
“Unless the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) recommends changes in some aspects, you’ll have part of the results before the students leave. This will solve the problem of high-stakes examinations,” Prof. Ong’ondo said.
Prof. Ong’ondo claims this will address the issue of “high-stakes” exams.
On Wednesday, when the forum opened, CS Machogu announced that President William Ruto will be releasing the PWPER report before the end of next week.
Belio Kipsang, the Parliamentary Secretary for Basic Education, said the findings would be made public.
As it stands, classroom teachers will grade the formative assessment, while the summative assessment will be given and graded at the national level.
Some delegates had doubts about the accuracy of these ratings.
“We need to address the trust deficit because we’re the custodians of the future. We need to prepare for the transition because we don’t want to be late. We have two years to do this,” said Dr Kipsang.
KICD Drafts Senior Secondary School Curriculum: SSS Pathways for Student