Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos has reversed the earlier government directive to make Mathematics optional in senior school, announcing instead that the subject will now be compulsory across all pathways under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
Speaking during the National Conversation on the CBC on Thursday, CS Migos said the decision was informed by feedback from education stakeholders who expressed concern over the proposal to scrap Mathematics as a core subject at the senior school level.
“We have listened to the voices of stakeholders across the country. Mathematics will be made compulsory in all pathways, although its content will vary depending on the area of specialization,” said CS Migos.
Under the revised model, students who select the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) pathway will take advanced Mathematics, while those in the other two pathways—Social Sciences and Arts & Sports Science—will be taught a simplified version of the subject.
“Some form of mathematics [will] be made compulsory for the two pathways that are not the STEM pathways. We have STEM having pure maths and the other two having a form of maths,” CS Migos added, noting that the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) was involved in the final decision-making.
This announcement marks a shift from the Ministry of Education’s earlier position, where Mathematics was excluded from the list of core subjects for senior secondary learners under CBC. The initial move sparked criticism from various education stakeholders, including the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET).
KUPPET’s acting Secretary General Moses Nthurima had strongly opposed the plan, warning that making Mathematics optional would negatively impact students’ academic growth and their competitiveness in the job market.
“KUPPET rejects the government’s proposal to make Mathematics an optional subject at the senior school level,” Nthurima said at the time. “Maths is an essential subject for building a competent workforce for the 21st Century. Indeed, Maths also has a wide application in the learning of all other areas including humanities, sports and of course STEM.”
Under the CBC, students will now be required to take four core subjects—English or Kenya Sign Language, Kiswahili, Physical Education, and Community Service Learning—and choose three additional subjects from a pool of 38 options, depending on their preferred pathway.