Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka has welcomed the Ministry of Education’s move to reinstate Mathematics as a compulsory subject in senior secondary schools, calling it a critical policy correction that safeguards Kenya’s academic future.
Taking to his official X account on Thursday, April 24, 2025, Onyonka revealed that he had made passionate appeals to Education Cabinet Secretary Migos Ogamba last month, urging him to reverse the earlier decision that had made mathematics optional under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
“I commend the significant policy reversal within Kenya’s Ministry of Education, which has reinstated mathematics as a compulsory subject in senior secondary schools,” Onyonka said.
“I had made impassioned pleas to CS Migos Ogamba last month, where I vehemently opposed the initial decision to make mathematics optional under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).”
He warned that dropping maths as a compulsory subject would have undermined Kenya’s academic reputation and limited students’ future opportunities, particularly in globally competitive STEM fields.
“The effects of the ministry’s earlier decision would be significant to erosion of Kenya’s academic standing and a crippling limitation of students’ future opportunities, especially within the globally competitive STEM disciplines,” he said.
In addition, the vocal senator said that the new directive solidifies a curriculum where students pursuing STEM pathways continue with pure mathematics, while those in arts, sports science, and social sciences study a modified, context-specific version. This approach balances diverse academic interests while emphasising the importance of mathematical literacy.
“The new directive cements the curriculum that maintains pure mathematics for students pursuing STEM pathways, while those in arts, sports science, and social sciences engage with a modified, context-specific version of the subject. This approach caters to diverse academic interests while preserving the fundamental importance of mathematical literacy,” he added.
Ogamba on Maths
Speaking during the official opening of the National Conversation on Competency-Based Education at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre on April 24, 2025, Education CS Julius Ogamba announced that mathematics will once again be a compulsory subject in all senior secondary school tracks under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), reversing a previous decision to make it optional in non-science streams.
“The majority of stakeholders during the CBC dialogue were of the view that mathematics should be compulsory in senior school. We have listened to your concerns, consulted with the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), and resolved that some form of Mathematics be made compulsory for the two pathways that are not STEM,” Ogamba said.
According to the CS, under the revised curriculum, STEM students will continue with advanced mathematics, while those in the other two pathways will study more foundational versions of the subject, tailored to align with their specific focus areas.
“We will have the STEM pathways having pure maths and the other two pathways having a form of maths so that we have maths in all three pathways in senior school,” he added.
The former Education Principal Secretary, Belio Kipsang, had confirmed that students will only be required to take English or Kenya Sign Language, Kiswahili, Physical Education, and Community Service Learning as mandatory subjects.
