University transition demands urgent collaboration and clear leadership

Kenya's education system is on the cusp of a major transition. The first cohort of learners under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) is preparing to exit high school in the near future, and with that comes a critical challenge: Ensuring their smooth and meaningful entry into university. This moment demands not just preparation, but a new level of coordination, foresight, and collaboration among key stakeholders - particularly the school Boards of Management (BoMs), the Commission for University Education (CUE), and public universities. The CBC is more than a shift in curriculum. It represents a complete rethinking of how learning is delivered, measured, and connected to the real world. It prizes competence over memorisation, creativity over conformity, and adaptability over repetition. Learners coming through the CBC system are fundamentally different in the way they think, engage, and explore knowledge.