Parents have been urged to embrace the changes and challenges brought by the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system, with education leaders insisting that the new model focuses on what a child can do rather than the grades they score.
“We must understand that there is change, and change comes with challenges. The first challenge is understanding,” said Rev Emmy Owino.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Kenyan Tabloid, Rev Owino, the Director of Living Streams Schools in Car Wash, Kisumu, said the era where grades such as As and Bs defined a child’s future is long gone. She noted that parents should not be overly concerned with grades, arguing that the CBE system is designed to identify a learner’s strengths and guide them toward the right career pathway.
Rev Owino acknowledged that the transition to CBE was sudden and initially controversial, but maintained that the system is manageable and progressive. She said much of the confusion surrounding CBE would be resolved if parents actively engaged teachers to better understand how the new system works.
“This change was sudden, and when CBE was introduced, it faced a lot of controversy. That is where the confusion came from. But we want parents to know that this is a manageable and progressive change. When parents engage teachers in schools, they will understand that it is not about As or B+, but about the talent of a child and who that child truly is,” she said.
She further criticized the former 8-4-4 education system, saying it often created tension between parents and their children. According to Rev Owino, many parents forced learners into courses they had no passion for, only to be disappointed later when the children graduated with poor outcomes or abandoned those careers altogether.
“There are parents who feel their children wasted time in university because they forced them into courses they did not want. After graduation, some children would tell their parents they studied for them, not for themselves. CBE gives children the opportunity to be who they want to be,” she explained.
Rev Owino added that under the 8-4-4 system, good grades often dictated career choices, regardless of a learner’s abilities or interests. She said CBE corrects this by aligning education with a child’s talents and strengths.
She also addressed concerns raised after the release of recent results, where some parents thought their children had failed because they were unfamiliar with the new grading system. She clarified that grades such as “EE” mean “Exceeding Expectations,” which is equivalent to top performance under the previous system.
“Parents should not be disturbed by the EEs. Some thought their children had failed, yet EE means Exceeding Expectations. That is the A of the 8-4-4 system. Change is painful, but change is progressive,” she said.
Rev Owino urged parents, teachers, learners, the Ministry of Education, and the government to work together to ensure the success of the CBE system.
Meanwhile, Dickens Adongo, the Deputy Head Teacher at Living Streams Schools, emphasized the need for collaboration among teachers, parents, and learners to achieve positive outcomes. He said the school actively engages parents to help them understand subject choices and pathways at the senior school level.
Adongo noted that Living Streams Schools stands out due to its adequate learning and sporting facilities, strong Christian foundation, and a team of TSC-trained teachers committed to holistic child development.
