Race against time as universities brace for 2029 CBE intake amid funding crisis

Kenya’s universities are racing against time to prepare for the 2029 admission of the first cohort of the Competency-Based Education (CBE) graduates from senior schools.

The transition is however facing strong headwinds of financial challenges and pressures that have nearly brought the institutions of higher learning to their knees.

With just four years remaining until the pioneer cohort of students shaped by hands-on, skills-focused training joins institutions of higher learning, universities now face a litmus test and a need to overhaul their curricula, retool faculty, redesign their assessment criteria and invest in the requisite infrastructure.

This comes at a time when universities are already struggling to stay afloat. The sector, still recovering from a crippling industrial strike, is facing a Ksh.223 billion funding crisis, with pending bills standing at Ksh.85.28 billion.

Many of these institutions are struggling to pay salaries, remit statutory deductions and clear supplier debts. For the 2026–27 financial year, Ksh.311.9 billion is required for recurrent expenditure, yet only Ksh.155.2 billion is available.

The Commission for University Education (CUE) is currently convening a stakeholders’ forum in Naivasha to bridge the gap between policy and reform, as well as chart a way forward in preparation for the transition.

The commission has begun rallying universities to align with reforms already implemented in basic education.

CUE Chief Executive Prof. Mike Kuria says the country must urgently confront fundamental questions before the first cohort joins universities in three years.

Prof. Kuria has brought to question the universities’ preparedness to receive the first cohort, emphasizing the need to address core issues urgently, among them: What exactly defines CBE at the university level? How will it differ from the traditional 8-4-4 system? What changes in pedagogy, content, and assessment are required, and how will lecturers be re-tooled to teach it effectively?

"These questions should be part and parcel of the discussions as we prepare for the first cohort of learners in 2029," Prof. Kuria said, stressing that universities must decide the depth of transformation and whether it touches content, teaching methods, grading, and entry criteria.

CUE Board Chairman Prof. James Onyango Awino described the shift as a historic "fifth revolution" in education, requiring a fundamental move to learner-centered approaches and practical applications.

"The methodology must change to suit the CBE learners. Course material will change. Assessment will change. Teaching methodology will change," he said, adding that producing graduates capable of innovation such as "flying things into space" demands massive resources that come at a high cost.

Stakeholders warn that if funding gaps persist, universities could struggle to meet even routine obligations, let alone fund the expensive upgrades needed for CBE like new labs, innovation hubs, digital tools, and large-scale faculty training.

Darius Ogutu, Director of Higher Education at the Ministry of Education, acknowledged the heightened costs: "We have to bring on board the conversation of the resources for the UCBE framework. It is going to be more costly than the current cohort."

The government plans to collaborate with partners like the World Bank and the African Population and Health Research Centre for data-driven solutions.

Roberta Malee Bassett, the World Bank's Global Lead for Tertiary Education, affirmed international support, noting that CBE aims to equip youth with adaptable skills for a changing workforce where some jobs may vanish in years.

"Reforms are a means to an end, the end being youth with higher skills and ability to adapt to the world’s changing dynamics," she said.

Admission criteria could also evolve, moving beyond KCSE grades to incorporate competencies, projects, and experiential learning. Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) CEO Dr David Njengere called for rethinking the purpose of university education.

As the clock ticks toward 2029, stakeholders in the higher education sector grapple with the question of whether universities will pass the CBE transition test better than their counterparts in basic education did and whether all the gaps will be bridged in time to receive the first cohort of CBE learners.