Why More Urban Families Are Choosing Foreign Curricula Over Public CBE Schools.
Kenya’s Competency-Based Curriculum, now commonly called Competency-Based Education (CBE), has reached senior school, and it has raised a question in many households: is the public system delivering? This article looks at why some urban families, including some in the political elite according to public critics, are turning to British, American and other foreign curricula, what the data shows, and what the government says in response.
What is happening, and what is not known
Reports of parents moving children out of the national curriculum are not new. A Nation report from before the first CBC cohort reached junior school described thousands of parents withdrawing children for international syllabi, with some private schools adding Cambridge options beside CBC and 8-4-4. One Nairobi school group said about 500 pupils had switched.
What is missing is a reliable national count. No official figure I could verify shows how many learners have moved from the national curriculum to IGCSE, American or other systems, so the “exodus” is best understood as a visible urban trend, not a measured national one. Foreign-curriculum schools are concentrated in Nairobi and a few other cities, and their fees put them out of reach for most families.
The claim about politicians is a long-standing criticism rather than a documented statistic. Public figures such as Prof. PLO Lumumba have for years said that many African politicians educate their own children in British or American systems while running public ones. This article does not name any individual, and no list of MPs’ children’s schools has been verified.
Why families say they are leaving
Teacher shortages. Public schools are short of teachers. A July 2026 report put the shortage at 96,345, with primary schools needing 38,054 more teachers and junior and senior schools needing 58,291 more. TSC had earlier told MPs the shortfall was 98,261 and projected a need for 58,590 more teachers for the 2026 senior school transition, with STEM and technical subjects hit hardest. Overcrowded classes and heavy workloads follow.
Funding gaps. Capitation is set at KSh 22,244 per senior school learner and KSh 15,042 per junior school learner. But school heads say less arrives. The secondary heads’ association said that by the start of Term 3 in 2026, schools had received about KSh 16,142 per learner, around 72 percent of the annual allocation. Earlier, the Treasury had acknowledged that secondary schools had been receiving about KSh 16,900 instead of KSh 22,244.
Policy confusion. Parents point to the rename from CBC to CBE, the decision to house junior school in primary school compounds, and the new senior school clusters and pathways. Each change can leave families unsure of what to expect.
Learning outcomes. In the first national Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) in December 2025, taken by 1,130,459 learners, only 32.44 percent met or exceeded expectations in Mathematics, and only 22.14 percent in Kenyan Sign Language. Elsewhere results were stronger: seven of the subjects had more than half of learners meeting or exceeding expectations, and the government said 75 percent of learners performed at Approaching Expectation or above across subjects.
Senior school choice is uneven
Senior schools are now grouped in four clusters, replacing national, extra-county, county and sub-county labels. The top cluster must offer all three pathways (STEM, Social Sciences, and Arts and Sports Science), while the others offer at least two, with STEM compulsory. Each school can offer at most two subject combinations. Learners in smaller county and sub-county schools can therefore have fewer options close to home, which is one reason families with the means look at alternatives.
Why foreign curricula appeal
Families who choose IGCSE and similar systems usually cite predictability, smaller classes, better facilities, and qualifications recognised abroad, which can make overseas university applications easier. International-school directories show annual fees in Nairobi ranging from roughly KSh 500,000 to over KSh 3 million, so the choice is mainly open to higher-income households.
The government’s position
The government says it has recruited 76,000 teachers in two years, employed 20,000 junior school interns and plans 20,000 more junior school teachers. It released KSh 44.2 billion in Term 1 2026 capitation before schools reopened, which was described as the first on-time release in recent years. Officials also point to the share of learners reaching at least the Approaching Expectation level at KJSEA as evidence that most learners are progressing.
Why it matters
If families with means move out of the national system while the system lacks teachers and funds, the opportunity gap between richer and poorer learners could widen. Education stakeholders have raised this risk, but it is not a measured outcome, and it depends on how quickly staffing and funding improve.
For more on the national curriculum, see our Ministry of Education news and KNEC news. For how junior school teachers’ unions are caught up in the rollout, read the KNUT–KUPPET dispute explained, and for teachers’ pay see the TSC salary scales by grade.
Frequently asked questions
Is CBC the same as CBE?
Yes. Government and the media now generally call the curriculum Competency-Based Education, and it replaced the old 8-4-4 system.
Do most Kenyan learners attend international schools?
No. Most attend public and private schools that follow the national curriculum. Foreign-curriculum schools are concentrated in major cities.
Why More Urban Families Are Choosing Foreign Curricula Over Public CBE Schools.