DEGREES WITHOUT JOBS: THE ECONOMY IS THE MISSING PIECE IN KENYA’S EDUCATION REFORMS

Kenya's education system is approaching a defining moment. In 2029, the first cohort of learners under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) is expected to transition to universities and other institutions of higher learning after completing senior school. Yet, even before these learners reach university, the country is already grappling with a familiar problem: producing graduates whose qualifications do not necessarily translate into employment opportunities.

The Commission for University Education (CUE) has now proposed a series of interventions aimed at addressing the growing mismatch between university programmes and the country's labour-market needs. Among its recommendations is encouraging more students to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), agriculture and advanced technology, while controlling admissions into courses such as education and arts, where graduate numbers are considered high relative to available employment opportunities.

The commission has also called for stronger career guidance in secondary schools and universities to help learners make informed decisions about their academic and professional futures.

On paper, the proposals address a genuine concern. However, they also raise a bigger question: Is Kenya addressing the underlying weaknesses in its education system, or simply attempting to redirect students towards courses perceived to offer better employment prospects?

According to CUE's University Statistics Report 2025, education produced 37,817 graduates out of 124,912 recorded across universities that year, representing approximately 30.3 per cent of the total. Business, administration and management followed with 24,194 graduates. Meanwhile, engineering recorded 6,401 graduates, agriculture 2,741, while natural sciences, mathematics and statistics produced 9,097.

The figures illustrate the uneven distribution of university graduates across disciplines, with education and business accounting for a substantial proportion of those completing their studies. CUE has warned that continued concentration in certain disciplines, alongside declining output in some technical fields, could worsen the mismatch between graduate qualifications and the skills required by the economy.

The commission's concerns are understandable, particularly as Kenya pursues industrialisation, agricultural transformation and digital development. These ambitions require engineers, scientists, agricultural specialists, researchers and technology professionals.

However, increasing STEM enrolment is not, by itself, a solution to graduate unemployment.

A country can produce thousands of engineers and computer scientists, but without sufficient industrial investment, technological enterprises, research opportunities and private-sector expansion, those graduates could face the same unemployment challenges currently affecting other disciplines.

The question is therefore not simply what students should study, but whether Kenya's economy is creating opportunities for the skills universities are expected to produce.

There is also a danger in treating education, arts and social sciences as less valuable because of the number of graduates they produce. These disciplines remain essential to governance, journalism, communication, public administration, cultural preservation, research and democratic development. Rather than arbitrarily restricting admissions, the government and universities should establish whether particular programmes are producing graduates with relevant competencies and whether the economy is adequately absorbing their skills.

More importantly, students should not be forced into academic pathways simply because policymakers consider certain professions more economically attractive. The purpose of career guidance should be to help learners understand their abilities, interests and opportunities, not to dictate which careers they should pursue.

This debate becomes even more significant when viewed against the impending transition to CBE.

The first cohort of CBC learners entered Grade 10 in January 2026 and is expected to complete senior school in 2028 before proceeding to higher education in 2029. Unlike the outgoing 8-4-4 system, CBE is organised around three broad pathways: STEM, Social Sciences, and Arts and Sports Science.

The new system is intended to nurture learners according to their abilities, interests and competencies rather than relying predominantly on traditional examination performance.

However, this ambition can only be realised if institutions at every level are adequately prepared.

On October 22, 2026, CUE announced that universities had been urged to accelerate preparations for the incoming cohort during consultations on a proposed Competency-Based Education Framework for university education. The discussions identified curriculum redesign, lecturer training, infrastructure, technology, financing and new assessment methods as critical areas requiring attention.

The commission's engagement with university leaders is an important step, but the timing raises questions about whether the sector can implement the necessary reforms before the first learners arrive.

Kenyan universities are already facing significant financial and operational difficulties. A  report  highlighted a funding shortfall of approximately KSh223 billion in the higher education sector, alongside pending bills amounting to KSh85.28 billion. These challenges raise concerns about the ability of institutions to finance new laboratories, digital infrastructure, research facilities and staff development programmes.

Competency-based university education will require more than changing course outlines. Universities must invest in practical learning, modern equipment, research, innovation and teaching approaches that allow students to demonstrate what they can actually do with the knowledge they acquire.

The challenge also extends to secondary schools, where learners are expected to develop the competencies that will eventually determine their university pathways.

For instance, a student interested in engineering or advanced technology requires access to functioning laboratories, qualified teachers, computers and practical learning opportunities. Similarly, learners pursuing creative arts and sports need specialised facilities, equipment and instructors.

Without these resources, CBE risks creating unequal opportunities in which a learner's future is determined more by the financial and infrastructural capacity of their school than by their individual abilities.

University admission is another issue that requires urgent attention. The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) is working with universities and professional bodies to develop admission criteria suitable for the new curriculum. This will be necessary because CBE assessments use competency descriptors such as Exceeding Expectations, Meeting Expectations, Approaching Expectations and Below Expectations rather than the familiar KCSE grading structure.

The new placement system must establish transparent requirements for different degree programmes while recognising the practical competencies developed by learners.

It should also provide opportunities for students to change academic direction through bridging programmes and foundation courses. A learner's choice of pathway at senior school should not permanently determine their professional future, particularly when interests and abilities can develop over time.

Perhaps the biggest missing conversation, however, concerns the employment market itself.

Kenya cannot continue encouraging students to pursue particular degrees without examining the industries expected to employ them. Increasing agricultural graduates, for example, should go hand in hand with investment in food processing, irrigation, agricultural research, storage infrastructure and agribusiness. Similarly, producing more technology professionals requires a supportive environment for innovation, digital enterprises and research.

Universities must also strengthen partnerships with employers through internships, industrial attachments, apprenticeships and collaborative research. Graduates should leave institutions with opportunities to apply their knowledge rather than discovering that their qualifications have little connection to available employment.

As Kenya approaches 2029, CUE's recommendations should therefore be viewed as part of a much broader education and economic reform agenda.

The government must invest in schools, strengthen university financing, improve career guidance, establish transparent admission requirements and create an environment in which industries can absorb skilled graduates. Universities, on their part, must demonstrate that their programmes are responding to changing economic realities without abandoning the wider social value of higher education.

Ultimately, the success of CBE will not be determined by how many students enrol in STEM programmes or how many admissions are restricted in traditionally popular courses.

It will depend on whether learners receive quality education, develop practical competencies, access opportunities regardless of their backgrounds and secure meaningful ways to contribute to society.

The first CBE cohort should not arrive at university only to discover that the institutions expected to nurture their abilities are still struggling to prepare themselves.