Cabinet Secretary for Education Julius Ogamba has stated clearly that Mathematics will continue to be mandatory in both primary and secondary schools.
As per Ogamba, this decision came after comprehensive discussions with all parties involved, during which the suggestion to make it voluntary was discarded.
However, he mentioned that arts students will be taught a streamlined version of Mathematics.
“Most participants in the CBC discussion believed that mathematics should be mandatory in high school. After hearing your feedback and consulting with KICD, we have decided that some level of mathematics will be required for both pathways that do not focus on STEM subjects,” he said.
There had been an outcry over the proposal to have Mathematics designated n optional subject with the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) arguing that such a move would undermine the nation’s workforce development and educational standards.
Following this, the Ministry of Education has recently declared that Mathematics will no longer be mandatory for upper-level secondary students within the new Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). This represents a significant change compared to the previously implemented 8-4-4 system which has now been discontinued.
In the system, students would have taken four compulsory subjects, namely English or Kenya Sign Language, Kiswahili, Physical Education, and Community Service Learning.
They subsequently selected three additional topics from a list of 38 available choices.
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