END OF 8_4_4 IN PRIMARY SCHOOL AS 1.2 MILLION JOIN IN SECONDARY SCHOOL

After 39 years, 8_4_4 system of education once percieve as the solution for Kenya's skills needed by employers was interved.

Consequently,none of the candidates who sat the last Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) will have a chance to repeat whatsoever.Ironically the eulogy for the system was read be Education CS Ezekiel Machogu who presided over the burial of a system in which he was once a key player.

As a District Commissioner in Nyandarua,Machogu's district monopolized the 8_4_4 when it topped in National Examinations for several years consecutively. It was also telling that the final rights were conducted by the man who superintended academic excellence at a time KCPE was such a cutthroat affair that in some students could be made to repeat for up to 5 years while others were banned from sitting the exams for fear they will dilute their school's overal score.

The now moribund system of education came into being as a result of a presidential task force in 1981 which recommended that primary and secondary school learners be exposed to more science and mathematics teaching.Emphasis too was put on personal skills modelled on a US model to make Kenyans more skilled.

Vocational skills such as art and craft were also envisioned in the system which for the first time demanded that even boys learn such skills as home science and cooking. Girls too were taught some art and craft.The 8_4_4 system was to impart skills to enable one to depend on themselves and also contribute to the societies well being.

After 39 years of 8_4_4 system which shaped the destiny of 26,067,181 people who were schooled in this system,the country is now bracing to walk in a new direction which will be pioneered by 1.2 million learners who will join Juniour Secondary in January after sitting Kenya primary School Education Assessment  tests (KPSEA) .