The Ministry of Education is facing mounting pressure over the fate of more than 9,000 pupils who were unable to sit for the final Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams in 2023, the last to be offered under Kenya’s 8-4-4 education system.
The matter was brought before Parliament this week by Dagoretti North MP Beatrice Elachi, who raised alarm over the looming danger that these students may never get a chance to join secondary school. With the full transition to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) now underway, those left out in the final KCPE exam risk being locked out of the education system altogether.
“These are vulnerable learners, many of them girls, who missed their exams due to circumstances beyond their control early pregnancies, long-term illness, and family challenges,” Elachi told the House. “We must not allow them to fall through the cracks simply because KCPE is no longer available.”Based on data by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), 9,354 candidates failed to take the 2023 KCPE despite having been registered. During that year, 1,406,557 pupils had registered to write the exam 721,544 boys and 685,017 girls
Elachi expressed concern over the girls unequally impacted, saying many still wish to return to school and sit the KCPE.
However, with the exam now phased out, there’s no clear pathway for them.
She also requested the Ministry of Education and the Kenya National Examination Council to quickly respond with what they are doing to support these students and if they can provide them with an alternative system to help them continue learning.
"With their dreams, we cannot drop this group. They have dreams," emphasized Elachi.The KCPE, the centerpiece of the 8-4-4 system, was officially phased out after the 2023 examinations, ending a chapter in Kenya’s education history.
The last cohort of students under the old curriculum will sit for the KCSE in 2027.
Elachi further raised common concerns about students likely to miss the KCSE in the future due to systemic or personal challenges and called for an all-rounded review to be undertaken to see that no learner would be left behind as the country fully shifts to the CBC era.
