Kenya’s decision to make maths optional in high school is a bad idea – what should happen instead

By Moses Ngware, Senior Research Scientist, African Population and Health Research Center

Kenya’s education ministry announced in March 2025 that mathematics would be an optional subject in senior secondary school, which begins in grade 10. Most students in this grade are aged 15 years. The education minister said the mathematics taught from grade 4 to grade 9 was sufficient for foundational “numeracy literacy”.

The change, in January 2026, is part of a shift to a new education system styled as the competence…

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