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From 7-6-3 to 8-4-4 to CBC: three Kenyan clocks, one staffroom

Kenyan teachers have already lived more than one system. 7-6-3. 8-4-4 from 1985, practical on paper, exam-heavy in the staffroom. CBC from 2017, competencies and continuous assessment — and a new kind of paperwork. Kurasa is a page for the current week. It is not the curriculum.

Dated archive. The sitting or signing is the date on the page. Do not treat 2024 or 2025 counts as live scale, and do not mix them with the 2023 documentary snapshot or the 60 Decibels study.

Curriculum history. Not a claim that Kurasa designed CBC, and not a KICD document.

A Kenyan primary courtyard between lessons, 2023 feeling.
A Kenyan primary courtyard between lessons, 2023 feeling.
7-6-3 Primary, secondary, university — the older clock
1985 8-4-4 introduced
2017 CBC begins its public roll-out
CBC/CBE Competencies, not only a terminal exam

What each clock emphasised

7-6-3: a clear ladder and a hard exam culture. 8-4-4: eight years of primary, four of secondary, an attempt at vocational breadth that still collapsed, for many families, into KCPE and KCSE. CBC: learner-centred language, pathways in senior school, school-based assessment beside the national sittings. Each had gaps: rote, resource inequality, teacher preparation.

Why one page

Four April 2024 posts and the 2022 “iceberg is melting” note repeated this history. Search does not need five URLs. This one is dated. When CBE language replaces CBC in official use, say so — do not silently swap the acronym as if the years did not happen.

Where the product sits

Kurasa does not replace official CBC documents. It helps a teacher work with them. Lesson plans, formative marks, reports. Other curricula exist on the same software. The origin story — Ziada in lockdown — lives on Our Story, not in this history.

A handwritten exercise-book page with the word kurasa in ordinary handwriting.
A handwritten exercise-book page with the word kurasa in ordinary handwriting.
A handwritten page. The word kurasa is a page, not a rebrand of a curriculum.

The current week

History is the map. Monday is the scheme.

The CBC teacher guide is the how-to. Our Story is the company origin.