Most learners in Grade 9 are choosing social sciences as their preferred career pathway, a new study has found, going against government efforts to steer students towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
The study by career assessment firm Central Careers shows that 39 percent of the learners prefer the social science pathway, 33 percent prefer STEM while the remaining 28 percent prefer arts and sports.
The Competency-Based Curriculum Framework (CBCF) as well as the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms recommended that 60 percent of all senior school learners should undertake STEM. However, research now shows that this might not be achieved.
“We have to be very realistic and intentional when we talk about the 60 percent so that parents are not worried about their children being cut off or forced, so the data and the figures can align,” said Joseph Muraya, the chief executive of Central Careers.
The data was presented at a symposium on competency-based assessment (CBA) organised by the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) where stakeholders on matters of education shared insights on ongoing education reforms in Kenya.
Mr Muraya noted that the assessment carried out between July 2024 to April 2025 had sampled 147 schools across 16 counties and taken into account the learners’ classroom performance.
“This is real data and not an aspiration. We should let the learners thrive, instead of surviving in their career so that we create a society of thinkers rather than of employees,” he said.
The competency-based curriculum offers three career pathways to learners joining senior school, which include STEM, social sciences and arts and sports.
The data shows that of the lot that prefer the Social Science pathway, 62 percent prefer the language and literature track, while business studies and humanities are preferred by 20 percent and 18 percent of learners respectively.
Further, the data shows that a good number of students are interested in doing pure science, at 59 percent, compared to applied science at 30 percent and technical science at 11 percent. These are the three tracks under the STEM pathway.
The pioneer cohort of CBC learners is currently in Grade 9 and is set to sit for their assessment in November. The more than 1.2 million Grade 9 learners are expected to transition to senior school based on the career pathways of their career choice, abilities and interests.
The annual symposium is themed “Mobilising Assessment Data Usage for Equity in Learning, Instruction and Shaping the Policy Agenda”.
It brings together different players in the education sector to discuss various issues and offer mitigation solutions where necessary.
