The Exam Economy of Kenya

Every October in Kenya, streets fall silent during the KCPE—the national primary exam that decides which secondary schools students may attend. Radios broadcast exam tips. Parents fast and pray.In a system that prizes test results above all, one number determines a child’s future.

High-stakes testing was designed to promote meritocracy; instead, it has created a shadow industry. Wealthier families hire tutors and pay for “revision camps.” Rural schools—often under-resourced and overcrowded—prepare students through rote memorization, not understanding. When scores are released, celebration and despair divide communities like a lottery.

The exam economy perpetuates inequality by disguising privilege as performance. Students from low-income counties face lower transition rates to secondary school and are often tracked into vocational programs regardless of potential. Recent curriculum reforms under Kenya’s Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) aim to emphasize creativity over cramming. Implementation has been rocky, but it signals a national reckoning: learning should not be a punishment for being poor.

Kenya’s children don’t need fewer exams; they need a system that measures growth, not circumstance.