Principal Secretary for Higher Education Beatrice Inyangala / HANDOUTThe government has moved to assess how prepared public and private universities are for the transition to Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET) ahead of the 2029 transition.
The State Department for Higher Education has invited bids from qualified consultants to evaluate university programmes for competency-based training and evaluate progress made by both public and private universities in aligning their curricula with the new system.
The move comes as universities prepare to receive the first cohort of CBE learners at the start of the 2029 academic calendar.
The pioneer CBE cohort entered senior school in January 2026 and is expected to complete senior school after sitting their final basic education assessments in 2028.
The transition is expected to require universities to make significant changes to their curricula, teaching approaches, assessment systems and infrastructure to accommodate learners whose education will have been anchored more strongly on competencies, practical skills and career pathways than memorising concepts.
The Commission for University Education (CUE) is spearheading the development of the University Competency-Based Education Framework (UCBEF), which is expected to guide universities in preparing for the arrival of the first CBE cohort.
The framework is intended to help institutions align university education with the competencies and learning approaches being developed under the country's new education system.
CUE Board chair Prof James Onyango Awino has previously warned that universities will require substantial resources to prepare for the transition.
“We are trying to move. These students are coming to the universities. Resources, and I mean huge resources, will be required,” Awino said during a delegates and experts convention in February.
The framework wants to use the CBET evaluation to establish the extent to which universities have progressed towards the new model and identify areas requiring further intervention.
The tender documents provide detailed specifications, terms of reference and other requirements for the assignments.
Eligible bidders are required to submit, among other documents, a certificate of incorporation, a valid Kenya Revenue Authority Tax Compliance Certificate and a duly completed and signed Form of Tender.
Where applicable, bidders must also provide sector-specific registration or licensing documents.
The tender documents are available free of charge on the Ministry of Education website and through the Public Procurement Information Portal.
Completed tenders must be submitted by October 6, 2026, at 11am.
The evaluation comes against the backdrop of broader changes expected in the full transition from the 8-4-4 education system to the CBE, which places greater emphasis on competencies, practical learning, career pathways and application of knowledge.
The 8-4-4 education system will be fully phased out in 2027 when the final cohort sits the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.
Under the emerging CBE model, university admission is expected to place greater emphasis on learners' specialised career pathways selected in senior school, rather than relying solely on traditional examination grades.
"In 2029, a new kind of learner will walk into Kenya’s universities. They will not be waiting to be lectured for hours. They will expect to question, to collaborate, to experiment, and to solve real problems," CUE said.
"The question now occupying policymakers, regulators, and education experts is simple but urgent: Are universities ready?"
Internationally, competency-based and outcome-based approaches have taken different forms, with countries including Singapore and Mauritius seeking to align higher education more closely with national development needs, industry skills and adaptability.
Kenya's approach is expected to be locally grounded while drawing lessons from such experiences as universities prepare for a new generation of learners from 2029.
