12.3.2026

Mbaika/Nanny 

S-4000

M-8000

L-10000

Nthenge/Buck

S-4000

M-11000

L-15000

My head was full of regrets. Every time voices reminded me of the opportunities I let go and the doors I never opened. Resistance kept me from letting go of the past even if it dragged me into pain.

A moment came when I had to question whether tomorrow was worth living. Yet the very moment I was surrounded by pain, my eyes tried opening and I was starting to see small sparks of reinvention, moments where I tried and tried again. Reinvention became a slow decision to try again in different ways. My suffering became a path where resilience followed, teaching me that storms don't just destroy they also tell who we are.  

As a student, I tried to reinvent myself but no matter how hard I tried, regrets never stopped knocking at my door. I kept on thinking of the chances that I let slip away, the scholarships I never applied for, the friendships that were going to be beneficial to me and I didn't nurture, reminded me of the moments that I chose to remain silent when I should have open up. 

Now regrets became heavy and I had questions that became difficult to answer. Regret reminded me of the times I hesitated when I should have acted and change something. Regret has now become a shadow that follows me even if I try to focus and walk forward. It whispers and reminds me of the things I could have done differently. But despite all the challenges that are pulled by regret, it also acts as a teacher. It showed me the cost of hesitation, the pain experienced by missing good opportunities, and also the urge of action before it is too late. 

In addition, regrets also showed me the essence of time, how time should not go to waste and I was able to understand how fragile time is. Therefore, the truth remains, suffering is not only about what happens to me but also about what I fail to accomplish for the better me.  

If resistance is loud, regret is therefore quiet. It asks haunting questions like, what if I tried harder? What if I had spoken up? What if I had chosen differently? But then regret became my companion during sleepless nights. Choices replayed in my mind wandering how different things might have been if I had dared to step out, but that was never the end of life. Regret had shown me the way as well as acting as a teacher. It showed me that resistance had cost me more and slowly I began to reinvent myself. 

Reinvention did not happen overnight, it began with small steps. I decided to push myself harder and I joined campus projects with determination. I even went further to volunteer for community work, discovering that the services gave me a sense of purpose I had never felt before. Opening up in class became my daily routine, my voice trembling at first, but growing stronger with each attempt I make.  

I reached out to people I had once ignored, building friendship that were good and of beneficial to me in my academic life, friendships that taught me the values of connection. Bringing closely good people to my life worked well in reshaping my life. My life needed a fresh start, I never hesitated to apply for opportunities I once feared, and though I failed at some, I discovered courage in the attempt. Therefore, reinvention became my new rhythm even if it wasn't a straight path. A path that is messy, uncertain, and full of moments where doubt creeps back in, despite all I must have the courage to keep reinventing. 

Even as I walked this new path of reinvention, I realized that change was rarely a straight line. There were days when doubt crept back in, when old fears whispered that I was not enough, that I would fail again, that past regrets defined me. But I learnt to meet these moments with patience and persistence, reminding myself that growth is measured not by perfection, but by the courage to try again. I began to set small, deliberate goals, speaking up in class, volunteering for leadership roles, applying for opportunities I would once have avoided. Each attempt was a victory in itself, whether it succeeded or failed, because it proved that I was no longer immobilized by resistance or haunted by regret. I discovered the power of reflection, taking time to celebrate small wins while learning from mistakes, and slowly, this practice reshaped my mindset. 

Friendships that I nurtured during this period became mirrors of resilience, showing me that support and connection amplify our strength. I also noticed that reinvention is contagious, inspiring even one peer to take a risk or face their fears felt like contributing to a larger wave of change. And though the road remains uncertain, messy, and full of challenges, I have come to understand that life’s storms do not just test us but they train us, revealing hidden strength and untapped potential. Reinvention is no longer a single moment but a rhythm of living, a conscious choice to keep moving forward, even when the future is unclear, because growth is found not in avoiding the storm, but in learning to dance in its rain. 

The storm of changes is still violent and I stand at its centre. I know what regret feels like, I know the comfort of resistance, and I have tested the power of reinvention. Yet the question remains, when the next door opens will I walk through it, or will I let it close once again?

Competency Based Education which was formally known as Competency Based Curriculum was officially changed on 25th April, 2025 on a National Conversation Forum on Education. “Curriculum is dynamic, and we have an opportunity to be able to review some of the aspects of our curriculum. I am happy to note that today is the day we are also officially launching the new brand from CBC to CBE," Julius Bitok, the PS for Education announced.

The Competency-Based Education (CBE) is an approach that allows students to advance based on their ability to master a skill or competency at their own pace regardless of environment. It is a student-centred approach focusing on mastering specific skills and knowledge at one's own pace, rather than relying on traditional, time-based, or age-graded classroom structures. It prioritizes real-world application, offering personalized learning, flexible pacing, and continuous assessment to ensure proficiency.

CBE is structured into distinct stages with specific focus. It is a 2-6-3-3 education system where Pre-Primary education emphasizes on interaction skills, Primary focuses on socialization skills, Junior schools focuses on exploration of interests and abilities while Senior schools prepares learners for careers through specialization. 

The CBE offers four pathways in senior school to match the students' unique talents and career goals. These pathways are designed to develop 21st century skills, preparing students for further education, work or entrepreneurship. The senior school curriculum has a total of 38 subjects with Pure Mathematics (STEM), English, Kiswahili and Physical Education being the core subjects.

 

Kenya is a developing country that is constantly looking for ways to grow. The implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum is one example of such development. The establishment of this framework arose from the need to update and enhance Kenya's education system. The education sector considered that it was equally important to promote knowledge application as it was to promote its acquisition. The implementation of CBE emphasized what learners were expected to do rather than what they were expected to know. For example, it is not enough that students know the process of growing a plant, instead, they could be tasked with sprouting a plant from a bean, which allows them the opportunity to apply the acquired knowledge to real-life scenarios.

CBE is majorly divided into three pathways;

i) STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)

This is ideal for students who are passionate about science, problem-solving, innovation, and technology. It focuses on Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Computer science. Its career pathways are; Medicine, Engineering, Computer Science, Architecture, Aviation, Pharmacy, Research Sciences, Data Analysis, Robotics, Environmental Science and Agricultural Technology.

ii) Social Sciences

It is ideal for students interested in society, economics, governance, business, and human behavior. It focuses on how the world works and how people communicate. It’s perfect for those interested in Law, Journalism, Business, or Languages as their career. Subjects taught are History and Government, Geography, Business Studies, Economics and Religious Education.

iii) Arts and Sports Sciences

This is ideal for creative students with talents in arts, music, sports or performance. For the first time, being a great footballer, musician, or artist is treated with the same academic respect as being an engineer.

Traditional education has long treated students much like items on a factory conveyor belt, moving them along from grade to grade based primarily on the amount of time they have spent in a classroom regardless of whether they have actually grasped the material. CBE tries to eliminate this practice by placing the student at the centre of their own learning journey. 

We should embrace this shift because it acknowledges a fundamental truth. Students learn at different rates and in different ways. Moving away from the theory approach is not just a trend, it is a necessary evolution to ensure that students are not left behind simply because they required a bit more time or a different method to truly internalize a difficult concept. By focusing on practical rather than seat time we confirm the student’s effort and intelligence in whatever he/she is interested in.

Beyond the mechanics of learning, CBE is vital because it aligns our educational outcomes with the realities of the modern, rapidly changing workforce. Employers today are not hiring based on how many years a candidate spent in a lecture hall but they are hiring based on what that candidate can actually demonstrate they can do.

We must also consider the psychological impact of this change. Traditional grading often creates an environment of anxiety, where a single bad test score can define a student's perceived intelligence and limit their academic trajectory. 

CBE replaces this high-stakes environment with a focus on continuous improvement and actionable, formative feedback. It transforms the role of the teacher from a mere lecturer to a coach or mentor. This partnership is far more effective at fostering a growth mindset. Instead of failing a course, a student simply continues working on the material until they hit the mark. This removes the stigma associated with needing extra time and helps students develop resilience. 

We therefore should embrace CBE system of education so as to help learners to focus on the field that they are really interested in and increase their chances of getting employed in the digital world.

Parents whisper about brighter tomorrows. Little brothers and sisters gaze up like heroes walked in. Whole neighborhoods bet

everything on school being the ticket out. But there's another side no one talks about. It's not in the glossy photos or the proud speeches. It hides in the dim glow of hostel lamps at midnight, in those solitary walks across empty quads, in the

hush when the day's chaos finally die down. It's the invisible load they shoulder alone, day after day.

This past weekend at Chuka University grief crashed in like a storm. Word spread in whispers, rippling through lecture halls and hostels. Phones lit up with texts that hit like punches. Friends huddled in shadows, voices low, eyes wide with "no, not them." Some just sat there, numb, replaying yesterday's hellos. 

The air felt thicker, emptier, even in rooms packed with people. And it's not just

Chuka. This pain echoes across campuses nationwide in hostels from coast to highlands, in universities big

and small. One loss after another, each one carving out the same raw questions, the same aching quiet. Different halls, different names, but the same hidden fights. It's a pattern that's breaking hearts, demanding we look closer. What sticks hardest are the what-ifs. Did we miss the signs, buried under small talk? Could one kind word, one real check-in, have shifted everything? How does someone in a sea of faces end up drowning alone?

From the outside, these students seem unbreakable. Up at dawn for lectures, notebooks stuffed in bags, hustling from class to class. They crack jokes over chapo, swap stories in the quad; life looks solid. But underneath? Battles raging out of sight.

Money woes hit like a brick wall. Fees pile up, meals stretch thin, what's meant for months vanishes in weeks. Hunger becomes a dull ache you push down, promising yourself "later." Social spots? Off limits without cash. Rent days loom like thunderheads, no rain in sight.Home calls twist the knife. Mom

asks, "How's school, mwanangu?" full of pride, blind to the storm. They can't help; they're barely holding on themselves. So you smile through the line, "All good," sparing them the weight.

Then, academics crush in. Failure isn't just a grade, it's the whole dream crumbling. Every test feels like judgment day, every slip a step towards nothing. No room to breathe, no mercy for the tired.

Loneliness sneaks up in crowds. You're surrounded, yet miles from anyone who gets you. First time away from home, support

networks feel like ghosts. No one to read your silences, to just 'know'. So you fake the grin, nod along, tell yourself to tough it out. Weakness? Nah, not here. Pain festers unseen.

Mental health talk still feels risky often brushed off as "just stressed." Silence isn't empty; it's a cage with no key.When it

does, the void screams. Half-finished chats hang in the air. We wonder what they felt in those last hours; did they hurt alone, unseen?

These aren't one-off tragedies. They are screams from the strain so many carry nationwide, every campus, every quiet corner. Education is a lifeline. Sure, but for too many, it's survival too. They walk into halls loaded down not just books, but family dreams, future fears, the terror of letting everyone down. We could concur that all they crave is simple humanity; safe corners to spill without shame.

Words that say struggle isn't failure. Help that sees the person, not the transcript. Recognition that every face holds untold stories. Because in every lecture hall, behind every smile, there's a weight that might be too much for one set of shoulders.

Marriage was not on his immediate horizon. but one evening his phone rang with a call that would change everything. On the line was his uncle, speaking with the authorities of Luo community traditions. "We have brought you a wife since you had refused to marry. So we have decided for you". These words were heavy when they fell on his ear like a stormy cloud blotting out the sun. 

Shock coursed through him. He paused before replying, "uncle, I cannot accept her. I want to be a priest. My calling is not for marriage".

A long silence followed. Then, his uncle’s voice rose, sharp with disbelieve anger. "Priesthood! You speak of priesthood after we have brought you a wife? Do you think you can shame us with such claims?" 

Otieno tried to steady his voice, "Uncle, I respect you, but my calling is to serve God. I cannot marry. I want to be a priest.” The uncle continued telling Otieno how he would whip him if he was there since a man must marry and build a home.

Otieno, still on the call sat fragile between tradition and conviction. This moment was terrifying yet clarifying. His uncle’s anger revealed the depth of cultural expectations. But it also strengthened his resolve. What Otieno could not understand was the fact that they had brought a wife for him and a five-year-old boy. 

What rang in his mind was "do they think I am not capable of having my own kids?" Hours turned into days and days into months when Otieno recorded the call from the uncle again. This time it was not about the marriage scenario again since for the past three months Otieno had been avoiding his uncle’s calls. This time round the uncle said to him “the wife I brought for you is expectant. “This was unbelievable until when the true blow came when he learned that the woman was not only expectant but also pregnant by his own cousin.

This was cruel. There was a man who had not set eyes on a woman, who had not been home for months, suddenly told he was not her husband and soon to be a father of two -yet the children were no his. 

The family attempt to solve his” problem” of bachelorhood had created a deeper problem; one that mocked the very tradition they sought to uphold. Otieno’s reaction was a mix of disbelief and bitter humor. “So, I am married to a woman I have never met, and she is carrying a child that is not mine,”

and you say this is to save me from shame?" His words carried both pain and irony exposing th absurdity of the arrangement. The situation turned the family on its head. 

Instead of securing a lineage scandal, trying to force Otieno into marriage they had given him a wife whose loyalty was already claimed elsewhere? All this was happening to Otieno just because he was an orphan. Yes, the mother was still alive but had no authority whatsoever. Coming from a family which lured traditional critics, the mother could not stand and say anything without being contradicted by the uncle who now stood as

the father and the head of the family. Talking to Otieno, he added that he left home because he saw it fit to change the way things were and to try to help the mother out and give her siblings a sustainable upbringing since he was the eldest in the family.

Before turning to say he would wish to become a priest, he was an artist who used to compose Luo songs; Ohangla. A talent he identified back in high school. He now thought that he could not

pursue such a dream because of the mounting pressure back home. 

The same family that had not given any support in his music journey now had added another unreasonable burden yet avoided important situations in his life. At first the wonder was about if indeed he wanted to be a priest as he had told the uncle, but it

seemed it was just a plot to tell them in another way he was not for a woman whom he had no interest in and any desires of any cost. 

He had hopes that the priesthood claims will push away the uncle into believing that he had made up his mind and had no intentions of marrying at all. It seems like all this was going to be in vain, since there was no way, the uncle was going to let this slide away and "ruin" his home. 

Otieno went on adding that what hurt him most was the fact that they did not only marry for him a wife but also made the wife get a child the so called “wife” whom he did not ask for nor had any desires for leave alone laying eyes upon her. 

The uncle even suggested for the two cousins to split responsibilities claiming that parental  responsibility is not carried by one person alone. Otieno found this unrealistic in the way that, the unborn child was not his neither was he for the one who was five years old. For Otieno, the irony deepened his conviction. "Uncle", he said’ voice steady despite the storm inside him. "This is not my path. I will not marry. I will serve God.”