Memories of 8-4-4: Revisiting the good, bad and ugly of KCPE

The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations came to an end in 2023 with the release of the results on November 23. The national examination was first done in 1985 when the 8-4-4 system was introduced in Kenya, facilitating a transition of learners from primary to secondary school education. The exam has been replaced by Kenya Primary School Education Assessment, with the first results set to be released next year. 

Change is good as a rest. This week, we speak with individuals who sat for KCPE exams under the 8-4-4 system. They recount the good, bad and ugly of the previous education system, as they look ahead to the new generation of CBC learners.

Mary Odhiambo, 27  Health Communications, Kisumu 
Doing away with the national exams and ranking is a good idea. The children coming behind us will no longer have to face the trauma of being last in class or being judged by other pupils simply because of failing to get good grades in a one-time exam. 

Remember during our time of 8-4-4, we would know who is number one and who is number 67 in the class, and both teachers and fellow pupils would use this to discriminate other learners.

The exams-based system used to put a lot of pressure on learners to perform well in standardised national examinations at the end of each level of education. Most learners were just studying to do the exams with no clear goal.

Nevertheless, I don’t regret having gone through 8-4-4. The system provided us with a strong foundation in all academic subjects, including mathematics, science, and English because of the long studying duration.

One of the things I am going to miss about the exams is the long holidays after national exams. We had a whole three-month break since most of us joined secondary school around February. I don’t know if it was just me but I enjoyed it fully!

I sat my national exams in Kisumu in 2011. I remember the day like it was yesterday. The experience was amazing.

You know that one thing you have been waiting for, then it finally arrives? That was how I felt. I was well prepared by my teachers and that made me confident. I never feared the exams, I was ready to prove to my teachers, parents and the whole world that I understood what was taught. My favourite subject was English.

I will not miss much about the exam apart from the pressures it used to come with. I mean, you would always be scared of the exams especially due to high the expectations from parents and teachers. I always performed well in English throughout primary and secondary school and in college I pursued a degree in communications and PR. Language subjects shaped me.

I believe in change. Let us embrace this new strategy and see how CBC will shape our children now that the curriculum is more flexible and with lots of practicals.

The new system equips student with knowledge on day to day life skills such as cooking, drawing and independent thinking. With this, a child can identify what career path they want to pursue at an early stage.

Peter France Ogalo , Accountant, Nairobi
One thing I loved about 8-4-4 is the way it was so systematic. The transition from one level to the next was quite smooth. The only question I have to date is how the designers of the curriculum were convinced that a student has to stay in a class for three terms before moving to the next class. They must have been so intelligent! 

I successfully went through the system all the way to university. So much joy came with completion of each level. We would feel very proud on the day we wrote our last papers in Class Eight because it seemed like quite a long journey.

I sat my KCPE in 2013 at Nyabondo boys boarding school. I remember one of our teachers, Mr Kodingo, telling us that each question paper was fitted with a small camera chip, and that we were being watched all over the country. That’s how much discipline and integrity was instilled in us those days. 

The exams also came with anxiety especially when the Minister of Education began releasing results. When the competition among schools was still healthy, we were so anxious to know how neighboring schools had fared. I think ranking was good. It helped everybody stay focused.

I was called to Murang’a High School, where we were thoroughly trained academically, and in life matters. The values of discipline and resilience were deeply ingrained in us. The world is just yet to realise what we can offer.

I started liking numbers towards the end of my primary school exams because initially, mathematics seemed so difficult. That’s why today I am an accountant. 

Doing away with the exams is not a bad idea. Change is inevitable. In the words of the late Prof Magoha, CBC is here to stay.

Since there is a lot of change happening globally, it was important that we come up with new techniques to ensure our education system can help us tackle the present world challenges.

The competence based curriculum is the real deal. It is an excellent system since it focuses on identifying and nurturing skills at a tender age, which is very important for our nation to realise its full potential. You can imagine the kind of brains we are going to produce in a short while. More thinkers and problem solvers. There’s only one catch – we must be very disciplined in implementing it.

The system breaks the monotony of staying in one stage for many years because before you realise it, you are moving to the next stage. Another major plus to students is the fact that we no longer rank learners and schools. We had gotten to a level where rankings were causing too much unfair competition. It somehow watered down the quality of learning since everyone wanted national glory.

Ojamaa Nasirumbi, 23 , Journalist
In my opinion, the old education system was focused on imparting knowledge rather than exposing young learners to new skills, talents and interests.

I remember the rigorous preparations we would all put in towards the national exams, expecting good grades only for some of the learners to end up with poor grades. Many learners and teachers were keen on posting good results but they forgot that perfecting skills and talents is also important. I think that is why we are currently struggling with unemployment.

We have lots of youth who performed well in their primary and secondary school national exams but are yet to secure a job. All we hear are stories of people who want to give up, young people who want the white collar jobs, and depressed workers who are unhappy with their pay.

Also, let us not forget the teenagers who missed a chance to join their dream schools simply because they failed to do well in the national exams when all along, through their eight years in school, they had really good results. One good memory I hold from my primary school education is the fact that through revision of past papers, one was able to predict a few questions and prepare adequately.

I did well in the national exams and just as we say, education is an equalising factor. It gave me the confidence to compete with other learners from “good schools” in the country, including those who performed even better than me but got admitted in the same school as me.

The exams also made me realise I was good in languages and maths, and after posting good results in the two subjects in 2014, I developed more interest and motivation that led me to journalism and communication studies.

Doing away with the exams and rankings is a good idea because learners who are gifted differently can prove their worth in the society even if they perform poorly in exams.

However, eliminating the tests may make learners put less effort in theory lessons and only focus on what interests them and not what the system requires them to know. 

I believe that given the chance and support required, CBC will produce all-rounded individuals. 8-4-4 was only exam-oriented and did not focus on the evolving societal needs.

Ranking gave schools and students a chance to know where they lie and what to work on in order to attain their targets. I wish the current system had a way of knowing who was best at what and by how many marks.

Benta Ochieng, 21 , Bachelor Of Education student,                   

Maseno University
I sat my KCPE in 2015. On the first day of the exams, it rained cats and dogs. I remember how extremely anxious I was because I was to do my exams in a different school other than the one I studied in. 
I went to a private school but it was yet to be registered as an examination centre so during the exams, we would go to the neighbouring public school where we would be registered prior to the exams. 

When we arrived it was more than evident that we were competing against each other since the learners from the school were not willing to share their knowledge before the paper. We had formed small groups but the learners seemed to pay little attention to the discussion with claims they would get confused, a clear sign that we mostly crammed things instead of understanding the concepts. 
From this experience, I remain convinced that the 8-4-4 education system did not focus much on learning, but majorly on cramming capabilities. The system was also centred on academic excellence at the expense of a learner’s talents. 

Doing away with the exams is the right move. It should have been done long ago. It was an unfair way of measuring progress in learners across the country because not everyone had access to the same resources. 

Those within the urban centres and better schools that include private schools got enough teachers and teaching resources while most public schools struggled with a few resources or lacked them completely. 

Even worse, exam malpractice emerged because each school wanted to produce better results than the others, and would turn to cheating.

But despite all this, I will certainly miss the national exams…the pressure that came with exam preparations and the joy of pupils, parents and teachers once the results were released.

We just witnessed that a few days ago after the results were released – students being carried high in the air. That alone was enough motivation to younger learners to work hard in order to be celebrated in that manner. 

For sure it pushed us to hard work to achieve good grades because good grades meant transitioning to a better institution, be it high school and later on to campus. 

Another good memory about the exams is that my results confirmed to me that I had the potential to achieve my goals. I got admitted to a good high school where I acquired several skills and values.
It was from my efforts to do well in KCPE that my creative skills in writing grew and they became better in high school with my exposure to set books and that is how I chose teaching as a profession. I do a lot of writing, because I learnt that most set book authors were teachers or lecturers.  I believe CBC is out to address real life challenges. Modern problems require modern solutions, and that is exactly what the new system is up to.

It places emphasis on putting learnt skills to use. I have a nephew at home who is skilled in weaving mats and even baking, which means he can be self-employed.

The spirit of competition has also been done away with. It is truly impressive that the 2-6-3-3-3 system of education gives talents and abilities a chance. In the 8-4-4 system learners were even mocked for being good in extracurricular activities and performing poorly in exams. Now, learners’ talents will be identified and nurtured early, and put to use. 

Hopefully, parents will understand that not every learner has to be a doctor, engineer, pilot or an architect, since different learners have different abilities. My only worry about CBC is the numerous assignments where learners are asked to work on at home. On most occasions, parents do 90 per cent of the job. Maybe these assignments should be done in school with the help of teachers.